Auri-El's Intervention
by SAJones
Summary: Alyssa, sister to the celebrated BWL, is dumped at the Dursleys. When the abusive Dursleys go to far, and the girl in their charge dies, a divine hand intervenes. An abused girl and a lonely immortal find solace in one another as father and daughter. But what happens when a certain magical owl brings the daughter a letter? [Gelebor-Fem!Harry Father/Daughter] [WBWL] [M For Safety]
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

Just an idea that came to me in the shower (the best ideas occur there, don't they?). So, naturally, I grabbed myself a _real_ drink – Hot Chocolate, of course – and set about typing it up. I have three uploads ready, but I'll be pacing uploads at a single upload per four days until I catch up with my writing speed. So, yeah, next one will be on the ninth.

Anyway, sit back, relax and grab yourself a _real_ drink, and enjoy my pitiful attempts at writing… despite the fact I'm behind on my university work… really need to catch up on that. Anyway, here goes; a story of the lonely Chantry Guard and the Abused Child finding comfort as Father-Daughter... until a certain letter comes around...

**Story:**

Auri-El, Auriel, Akatosh, Dragon God of Time, Chief God of the Nine Divines. He went by many names and titles, none of which he chose himself, but that mattered little as all attributed to him. Many Bosmer and Altmer would often claim to be directly descended from him, though that was dubious at best – in fact, if any race of Mer had been closest to him, it would have been the Snow Elves, the Ancient Falmer. Found in nearly every culture, from Man to Mer, he was worshiped as the ruler of the Divines and the most powerful. Yet even he was powerless at times.

This was one such time.

Auri-El had seen the massacre of his Snow Elf children, some of whom actually were his direct descendants, at the hands of the Atmorans. He had seen the vile Dwemer twist and break them, the Atmorans hunt them and the world scorn them for fear of drawing the ire of man. Such an atrocity, even if in retaliation for a similar, though much less devastating attack, brought pain to the old God's heart.

Yet even as his sorrow for those who died mounted, a certain Snow Elf caught his attention; Knight-Paladin Gelebor. In the wake of the destruction of Snow Elf society, Gelebor had not forsaken his duty, alongside his fellow Snow Elves in the Chantry. Auri-El watched as, even when the Chantry bustled with life, Gelebor stood alone at the Wayshrine in Darkfall Cave. Aside from the occasional Initiate, Gelebor was assigned to the permanently empty cave for years.

Then Vyrthur's betrayal occurred. The Priests and Priestesses were slaughtered in under an hour. Knight-Paladin Gelebor led a group of Paladins, mostly assembled of Knight and Mage-Paladins, in the fight against the Betrayed. Their skill outshone that of the Betrayed by a long margin – they were warriors of Auri-El, after all – but even as the Paladins' average kill-count entered the multi-dozens, they were just too few. For each Falmer that was cut down, two more appeared – but for every Paladin that was lost, there was no replacement, only a decrease in combat ability.

It was not long before Knight-Paladin Gelebor fought alone. He fought all the way to the doors of the Inner Sanctuary, his own kill-count entering several hundreds. And yet, even the most skilled mortal is subject to fatigue. He began to slow, unable to keep fighting, though Auri-El knew that he would keep fighting until death. So, he intervened; Gelebor passed out and woke up back in Darkfall Cave. Unknown to Gelebor, the Betrayed and Vyrthur, however, Auri-El didn't stop there; in what short time there was, Auri-El transported the bodies of a half-dozen Priests and Priestess into a pocket dimension of Oblivion, and preserving the Prelates as spectral forms to take care of the Wayshrines, until the day that the Chantry became safe once again – an action that would have undoubtably caught the attention of Aedra and Daedra alike, were it not for the Maormer invasion of Elseweyr taking place on Mundus, drawing their attention away from his actions.

But that still left Gelebor alone. His most faithful servant, suffering alone in a dark and empty cave. Auri-El would have saved Gelebor, too, were it not for the fact that Gelebor was the only thing stopping adventurers from plundering the sacred Forgotten Vale – something that cannot be allowed to happen; the Forgotten Vale, after all, was sacred to far more than just Auri-El. Even as the years turned into decades and then centuries, Gelebor stood alone. An immortal guardian of a dead and corrupted Chantry.

Auri-El's gaze wandered across creation as he thought about what he could do. If Gelebor had been a woman, he could have blessed her with a child. Though sadly that wasn't possible. That thought saddened him somewhat. At least, that is, until he caught sight of something. A soul just entering Oblivion.

The soul was young, that much was obvious, and had obviously been taken before its time. There was still a tether between the body and the soul, due to how recently said child had died. So, thinking quickly, Auri-El reached out, reinforced the tether and pulled both body and soul to him. The body was in poor condition; covered in welts and bruises – obvious signs of abuse – but worst of all was the chemical burns around her eyes. Many treatments from Mortal mages could likely remove the chemical burns and scars, though whether her eyesight would return… well, it would take a miracle, and right now, Auri-El was in too much of a rush to attempt such a thing. If the Daedra caught wind of this... he shuddered to think.

So, the girl's injuries had to remain, but Auri-El quickly altered the fundamentals of the body. Hair became pure white, like freshly laid snow. Skin became as soft and colourless as the softest white silk. Her hidden eyes, once a shocking emerald green, became a deep blue that shone like sapphires. All the brutish muscles of Man were reshaped into the simple elegance of Mer. The girl became, in every physical and ethereal way, a Snow Elf. It would be down to Gelebor to make her 'walk and talk' like a Snow Elf, however.

And so, Auri-El placed a sleeping seven-year-old Snow Elf child before Gelebor – who was somehow dozing as he stood in front of the Wayshrine; unable to be relieved of his shift… for now. So, with a flash, as the body materialised, Auri-El watched in anticipation as Gelebor's eyes snapped open…

Yet, in his haste, Auri-El had not notice just one thing; his meddling with both her body and soul had caused a part of his divine power to 'rub off' on her. Not enough to give her divine powers, but enough that she could adapt to become Dragonborn – all it would take is but the learning of a single Word of Power to finish the transition.

Gelebor awoke from his standing nap with a start, opening his eyes just in time to catch the final second of a bright flash. There was absolutely nothing in Darkfall cave that could cause a flash like that – unless it was adventurers or even him. Though he knew the latter to be false. So, he had an intruder. The Knight-Paladin gripped his sword and went to take a step forward, only to freeze as his eyes found the source of the flash.

Lying upon the ground, on her back, with her hands gently folded over her abdomen was a child. A clear Snow Elf child. Her pale skin, paler than even Gelebor's, shone in the dim cavern, fading somewhat as if an unknown power was dispersing from her delicate form. The purest white hair flowed like a river of snow down to her hips, fanning out slightly across the ground, giving her what looked to be a blanket of silk to lay upon. Her form was small, very small, leading Gelebor to suspect that the child was a mere five Winters old. Perhaps the most eye-catching thing of all, however, was not a part of her, but what she was wearing. Besides the simple, pure-white dress that flowed down to her ankles, there was an oddity upon her face; a simple grey blindfold.

So surprised by the sudden arrival, and subsequent study, of the child before him, Gelebor failed to notice one thing for several long seconds. When he saw it, however, he was immediately pulled from his studies as a slight panic startled to stir. From beneath her, a pool of deep crimson began to spread; blood.

In a quick measure, Gelebor dropped his ancient mace and dashed the few metres before dropping at the girl's side. He was no healer, that skillset belonging to the Mage-Paladins and Priests, but he knew a few basics. He could just about do 'Healing' and 'Lesser Ward', which he immediately set about pouring into her until his Magicka ran low. While it refilled, Gelebor gently placed a hand upon her shoulder and leg, pulling her onto her side before moving around to get a better view of where the blood was coming from. What he saw made his normally pale face flood with an angry red as his expression contorted into anger.

Upon seeing the welts upon her back, Gelebor looked over the child, this time with a more detailed eye. Now that he was looking, upon her pale skin he could see hundreds of scars littering her body. Some of the more recent scars could likely be removed via potions applied directly to the skin, but many more went back years. Whoever this young girl had been in the 'tender care' of had treated her horrifically and now the girl would forever be scared physically, and likely mentally, by such actions forced upon her. While his meagre skill with what little Restoration spells he knew had managed to close the welts on her back, he did not currently possess the Magicka reserves, nor the potions, to heal them fully. For now, Gelebor would have to be satisfied with the minor healing that he had managed to give her.

Picking her up as gently as he could, Gelebor slowly carried her over to his bedroll, all the while trying not to jostle her. It took him a minute to cross the cave to his little camp as his slow speed and careful steps made it take longer. But he got there soon enough and now had to lower her into the bedroll with the same delicacy as he had carried her with.

It was only now that the child was placed within the bedroll and tucked in that Gelebor turned his attention to the curiousity of the blindfold. It was a simple affair; a plain grey cloth that completely hid her eyes. With careful hands, the Knight-Paladin slipped the blindfold off. He once again froze in anger at what he saw. What was clearly some form of acidic burns covering the area around her eyes, looking to be at least a couple years old. Her eyes themselves seemed stuck at a half-lidded position, with her milky-white eyes staring blankly ahead. Through the milky layer, however, Gelebor could just about see the most magnificent blue colour that he had ever seen, causing him to curse whoever had forced the child to hide away such gems.

The ancient Snow Elf carefully slid the blindfold back into place, absently wondering how she navigated. That thought led him to wonder how exactly she got here. All he knew was that there was a flash of light… sort similar to how he… Auri-El! Back when Auri-El had pulled him from his suicidal charge against the Betrayed, there was a flash of light before he went unconscious. Auri-El must have placed this child before him! Gelebor swore not to fail either Auri-El or the girl – he would look after her and raise her as his own, giving her the best childhood that he could.

It was on that day, the day of finding who he would come to call his little Lyra, that Gelebor swore to Auri-El himself that Lyra would be raised as a true Snow Elf. Gelebor would see to it that Lyra had everything she needed to become the best that she could be, and if that meant charging alone into the Chantry to reclaim some of the remaining books in the Chantry's Great Library, then so be it. He'd also have to look into learning Blacksmithing; it was only proper for a father to gift their child a set of armour upon their thirteenth Winter after all…

**Author's Note:**

Just a short chapter I know, but let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!

Anyways,

SAJones.

Toodles!


	2. Chapter 2 - A New Companion

**Author's Note:**

So, as previously mentioned I have multiple uploads ready (six of them now – twelve thousand words!), but I'll be pacing uploads at a single upload per four days until I catch up with my writing speed. So, yeah, next one will be on the thirteenth... Friday the thirteenth… uh oh…

Before I start, I'd just like to say thank you to all the people who liked and favourited not only this story but went to some of my others and did the same to them. Anyway, sit back, relax and grab yourself a _real_ drink, like a Hot Chocolate (do it!), and enjoy!

**Story – Upload Two:**

"Have you got your dagger? What about your healing potions? What about- ", Gelebor's fussing was cut short by a very unladylike snort of laughter.

"You are such a mother hen, father." She giggled, amused at the fussing of a supposedly fierce Knight-Paladin of Auri-El. She tapped her sheathed dagger and the satchel at her side. "I have my dagger, enough healing potions to help an army and the common sense you instilled me with."

A faint smile graced the old Knight's face. "Well, let's hope you use it this time." He teased.

A fake pout formed on Lyra's face as the Knight chuckled. "I'll be fine, father. It's not as if I'm going into the Vale proper; I'll keep well clear of the Inner Sanctum, and even the main section of the Vale itself. It's a simple trip to go out, grab some herbs and run back. Besides, we are in the Vale, Auri-El will watch over me." Lyra responded placatingly.

Gelebor could not help but look over his daughter proudly – how quickly she had grown. With a proper diet and frequent training, she had quickly filled out in muscle. The nine-year-old girl that stood before him was clad in Chantry Initiate robes, the decorative white robes shrouding all but her gloved hands and pale face. The satchel at her side had indeed been filled with an abundant amount of healing potions, at Gelebor's insistence, and the dagger at her side had been one of Gelebor's first successes from the jury-rigged forge he'd set up outside the cave. He'd also seen her trained in the dagger to the point where her skill was almost on par with his own, though she had yet to train with any other weapon, so that was not overly unbelievable – yet still impressive.

All the same, Gelebor would in no way cease his worrying. The Vale had Frost Trolls, Frost Giants, Frostbite Spiders, Vale Sabre Cats, Ice Wraiths, and other such horrors – not even getting started on the Falmer and their Chaurus. Gelebor just ached to go with her, but one of them had to remain with the Wayshrine at all times and Lyra had been nagging at him for a chance to go into the Vale. He'd tried to put it off at first by saying she could not go until she had mastered the creation of healing potions and her skill with a dagger was 'acceptable'. Naturally, his daughter had set her mind to it and exceeded all expectations with both. So, now Gelebor was forced to concede. Who knew children could be so determined?

"Alright. I'll trust in Auri-El to watch over you… but I will not cease my worrying! You are my daughter, Lyra, and it is my right to do so." Gelebor stated with a smile.

An identical smile formed on Lyra's face and, after one more check of her dagger and potions, she wrapped a scarf over the lower half of her face and stepped though the Wayshrine into the cave system on the other side. She had been into this cave before, cleared out beforehand by Gelebor, of course. This was the cave that she collected Gleamblossoms from. It was only this cave that Gelebor had been able to clear, and it had taken several long attempts to do so, but he had eventually cleared the way to the section of the Vale that it connected to, though he had not dared advance too far into the Vale, nor approach the Inner Sanctum. After all, he had a child to look after now. Well, that and maybe the fact that each time he came back bloody and bruised, it would take Lyra days to bring him back to full health, followed by another two days, at least, of being glared at by Lyra and chided for 'reckless behaviour'. Who was the mother hen again?

Nevertheless, the cave was eventually cleared, and it was this very same cave that Lyra now travelled with ease. As she sent out sonar-like Magicka pulses to map the areas around her, she could see the entirety of her environment for a good twenty metres in detail, and another five metres in shoddy detail. Her father had told her that she may one day regain the ability to see, should she master self-Restoration abilities strong enough, but her father did not know the abilities, let alone have the ability to teach her. So, for now, she was stuck blind.

After several long minutes, even passing by the bones and ruined huts of several Falmer as she walked, Lyra eventually reached the mouth of the cave and gasped. For the first time in years, her pulses could not reflect off of any walls or ceiling. It was rather uncomfortable to say the least. Well, until she took a deep breath, that is. As the cold and fresh air of the outside reached her lungs for the first time in years, Lyra was shocked at how her lungs felt as if they were going to freeze, yet still felt revitalized by the air. She'd never be able to breathe the cavern air the same way again.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she quickly set about following the rockface to her left, preventing herself from getting lost should she lose 'sight' of the wall. She'd come out here for a specific amount and type of plants, so she reduced the range of her pulses to around ten metres in order to increase the detail that she could perceive her surroundings in.

Over an hour and a full satchel later, Lyra was just collecting the last few Juniper Berries from a bush branch, when a sudden growl from behind startled her. Turning around slowly, while increasing the range of her Magicka pulses, Lyra's heart seemed to stop as she made out the form of a very large Wolf. Unlike the normal Ice Wolves that you'd find in Skyrim, the ones here grew up in a holy place and surrounded by divine power, hence their much larger size and much increased intelligence.

Remembering her father's brief mention of the Wolves, she quickly recalled how to show herself as a non-threat. Placing the dagger firmly in its sheath and lowering herself to her knees, she just sat still as the Wolf – which she was assuming was the Alpha of the other Wolves she could barely make out at the edges of her senses – approached her.

'_Don't run, don't flinch, keep calm, don't make any sudden moves. Let him sniff you, let him get to know your smell. Trust that he will see you're not a threat. Plenty of prey around, so they won't be hungry. Just sit still._'

Lyra forced herself to breathe deeply, in through her nose and out through her mouth, in order to keep herself calm as the giant Wolf started to circle around her. The rest of the pack just stood and watched from a distance, clearly not in a hunting formation, so she likely wasn't on the menu. Decreasing her Magicka pulses in range once again, she studied the Alpha that was circling her – just as he was studying her, no doubt finding her to be curious given that no Snow Elves had been into the Vale, even only the slight distance in that she was, for a very long time.

The Alpha was massive! From what she could sense, his head would probably be level with her father's shoulders! She wasn't even in the Vale proper yet, so coming across a pack of Ice Wolves was not an expected event.

Warm breath and the sound of heavy sniffing was suddenly in her ear and Lyra had to stop herself from jumping or yelping in surprise. Such a sudden action, without yet earning the trust of the Wolves, would likely lead to them seeing her as a threat and attacking her. Sensing the Wolf coming around her side, she slowly raised her hand, stopping it just before the muzzle of the Alpha and letting the Wolf sniff at it.

Once the Wolf carried on moving around to her front, Lyra allowed her hand to gently brush along the coat of the Wolf briefly. Her gentle touch and acquiescence to his sniffing hopefully conveying her intentions to the large Wolf.

Now in front of her, the Wolf was right up in her face, sniffing away at the scarf coving her mouth and the blindfold covering her eyes. Realising the Wolf's intent, Lyra carefully raised a hand to lower the scarf over her mouth and slip off her blindfold. It couldn't trust her if it couldn't taste her. As is common among Wolves, getting licked in the mouth occurs often and can be done to learn much about the other Wolf. It is likely that the Alpha wanted to learn about her, so she opened her mouth to it.

What followed was a rather disgusting few minutes of the Wolf doing just that, sniffing and licking away at her mouth. But while it was uncomfortable and very gross for her, it helped the Alpha relax and learn about Lyra. After a few minutes, the Wolf just lay down in front of her as Lyra's hands slowly stroked her way down his back. As the other Wolves started to approach, gathering around her, Lyra was careful to study the pack ranking.

As the Alpha moved away to allow his pack to investigate, Lyra made sure to greet the other Wolves in what she believed to be the pack order, highest to lowest. If she was to greet a lower ranked one first, it would likely lead to said Wolf getting disciplined by the Alpha – something she wanted to avoid. It was only after a lot of greeting and icky mouth licking, that the Wolves began to settle down around her, lazing around as they enjoyed the sun. In particular, the Alpha stayed at her side, enjoying a few belly rubs and scratches behind the ear. Luckily, however, the Alpha didn't seem to mind her humouring a few of the youngest Wolves, so long as she kept up a good belly rub at the same time, so Lyra was also able to befriend the youngest of the pack as well.

Other than a few instances of the Alpha snarling at the younger ones when they drew her attention away from him, the entire event was rather peaceful. After spending a good couple of hours just playing with the young Wolves, while being sure to dote on the Alpha, Lyra slowly stood up and, after a few farewell strokes on the Alpha, began to move away.

A few of the Wolves did follow her for a hundred metres of so, wanting to see where she was going, but when it became obvious that she was leaving, they returned to the pack. Lyra couldn't help but grin the entire way back to the cave. With the exception of the icky-icky-mouth-licky, the entire meeting of the Wolves was truly amazing. Sure, she was damned panicky near the beginning, but once the Alpha had approved of her and the pack had come over… well, it was amazing. There was no other word that could describe it.

_Back at the Wolf pack, one of the youngest Wolves who had taken quickly to Lyra turned and whined at the Alpha. The two looked at each other for a long moment before the Alpha just gave a gruff bark in confirmation. The young Wolf bounded away, tail wagging happily._

Lyra was tired as she entered the cave and stumbled occasionally. Having grown up in the cave, and despite her frequent training, travelling outside in the cold was something completely different. It was comforting to be able to sense the walls and ceiling again, knowing exactly what was near to her was something she had missed when she was outside. She never knew if something was just outside of her sensing range – something that the pack of Wolves had quickly proved was a major concern. If they had been hostile to her presence, or perhaps struggling to find food, things would have ended differently. She needed to work on expanding her 'sight' range.

She sighed in relief as she stepped onto the hard floor of the Wayshrine leading back to Darkfall Cave – to her father. A cup of Gleamblossom Tea while sitting around a fire sounded heavenly right now. Naturally, she was suspecting something else would come first. And she was right. She excited the Darkfall Cave Wayshrine to find a stern looking Gelebor waiting for her. Okay, maybe she'd taken a bit too long…

Knowing it would annoy her father, Lyra plastered a massive smile on her face before chirping, "Hello father. Miss me?"

The downright scary glare that she got afterwards was totally worth it. "I thought you said you would be gone for an hour."

"You know… I don't actually recall saying that…"

Her father paused. "Oh… right… But what took you so long! It should not take you three hours!"

Lyra shifted slightly, wondering whether he'd lose his head if she said she'd been playing with Wolves for the entire time. "I, uh, got distracted…" How could she phrase it without it sounding bad or reckless? She was pulled from her thoughts on the matter when Gelebor responded.

"So, I can see."

Confused at what he meant, she focused on what she was sensing around her and froze when she sensed a very happy Wolf sitting behind her, wagging his tail. It was one of the young Wolves from the pack. "Uh… I can explain."

"Relax, Lyra. This isn't the first Wolf from the Vale to latch onto someone. There used to be Wolves from a half-dozen different packs that would work alongside the Chantry Paladin Order. Most Paladins formed a bond with a single Wolf from the Vale." Gelebor explained. "I used to have one of my own, you know. A lovely girl, she was. Sadly, she wasn't made eternal like I was, so she eventually passed away."

Lyra was stunned at this news. "So… you think this Wolf is my companion?"

Gelebor smiled, glancing between the stunned child and the content Wolf. "Indeed. I, myself, used to ride my Wolf into battle. Yours seems to have quite a bit of growing to do before he gets big enough, and I'll have you make a saddle for you both."

"R-Ride a Wolf?!"

"Oh, yes. You should have seen the day that the Paladin Order charged out to meet a band of Atmorans. Two-dozen Wolf-mounted Paladins charging at a line of Atmorans that were five times their number. We didn't lose a single Paladin, or Wolf." Gelebor reminisced, Lyra's excited expression causing him to chuckle. "Back when Skyrim was still under Snow Elf control, it was the Paladin Orders of the varying temples, and their mounts that was sent out to eliminate rogue Werewolves."

"_Rogue_ Werewolves? Were there Werewolves that were allowed to be in Skyrim?"

"Oh yes, Lyra. Snow Elves were the original hunters of Skyrim. We had a… I guess you could call it a 'business arrangement' with the Daedric Prince Hircine. We didn't worship him, our faith being reserved only for our pantheon, but we did respect him as a fellow hunter." Lyra was stunned as she heard this, she'd never even heard her father mention Werewolves before, let alone the fact that the creator of Lycanthropy was respected by Snow Elves. "As such, it was not infrequent to find Snow Elves that accepted the gift of Lycanthropy. The man who groomed me for the Paladin Order was one, as well."

"So… you actually respected a Daedric Prince?" she asked.

Gelebor laughed. "Why else would _wild _Wolves come to serve us? Besides, Hircine is one of the few fair Daedric Princes. Besides, we Snow Elves are not the only ones to respect a Daedric Prince that is considered good, remind me to teach you about the Khajiit, Bosmer and Chimer faiths. Come, let us retire to the fire, I'll tell you more tomorrow."

**The Next Morning:**

"Father," Lyra whispered, trying not to startle the Vale Deer that had wandered near the cave, "what are we doing?"

Early in the morning, Gelebor and Lyra had left Lyra's new companion to guard the Wayshrine for an hour and headed out into the Vale. Gelebor had been cryptic and had only said that Lyra was going to dedicate a hunt to Hircine and get a hunter's blessing (A/N: Not Lycanthropy, just a blessing). Which now led to the two of them crouching in a bush. A bow was held in Lyra's hands – something she had barely used more than once – and their prey sitting a dozen metres in front of them.

"Like I said, you are going to dedicate a hunt to Hircine. Do you remember the prayer I told you this morning?" he asked.

"Yes, father."

"Then recite it." Her father ordered.

Lyra took in a deep breath. "My lord Hircine, God of the Wild, Prince of the Hunt, Father of Manbeasts. As I draw this arrow," she pulled back the bowstring and took aim at the Vale Deer, "I sight my prey. As I steady my head," she did so, "I dedicate this hunt to you, and as I loose this arrow," she released her grip on the bowstring, 'watching' as the arrow stayed true and embedded itself into the neck of the Vale Deer, severing its windpipe, "I send this prey to your Hunting Grounds."

Lyra let out a breath as the Vale Deer collapsed. Gelebor was smiling proudly to her left. Despite only having used a bow once before, she hit the Vale Deer in a lucky spot – or was it that Hircine had guided her? She didn't know, but perhaps the prayer had helped her in this 'hunt'.

Only a moment after the Vale Deer had hit the ground, there was a red flash and the body disappeared, leaving only the arrow on the ground. Startled, Lyra turned to Gelebor, "What was that?"

"The kill was dedicated to Hircine, Lyra, and so he took it. It now resides in his hunting grounds." Her father explained. "You can fully expect to have a truer aim for a few days, better luck finding prey and even a better rapport with your Wolf companion. It will only be mild at first, but the more hunts you dedicate to Hircine, the more favour he will show you – though the more challenging the prey and hunt, the more he shall favour it."

"And Auri-El doesn't mind that we do this?"

Gelebor smiled. "Not at all, the wildlife of the Forgotten Vale didn't just appear, you know. Hircine, and several others, also find this location to be sacred. Hunting Vale creatures will also gain you much more favour than you would gain from their normal counterparts. I once heard a tale about a Paladin who slayed a pair of Dragons over the lakes and dedicated those kills to Hircine. While the Prince could not take the bodies of the Dragons, with them being the children of Auri-El and containing his power, their souls ended up in the Hunting Ground and the Paladin was rewarded with a most magnificent weapon."

Lyra was enthralled by such a tale. "And what was the weapon?"

"He called it 'The Hunter's Fang', or just 'Fang' for short, and it was a strange type of halberd. He carried it until the day he died, using it to dedicate many kills to Hircine. The Paladin, along with his weapon, chose to go to Hircine's Hunting Grounds upon his death, where he would be a hunter for all eternity." Gelebor turned and smiled at Lyra. "Now, come, let us see if your Wolf acts any differently to you now."

As her father got up and started walking back, Lyra rushed to follow. "Father, would you be able to teach me how to use a bow better? Just knowing how to use a dagger leaves me at a bit of a disadvantage."

The response was a playful hum. "I don't know… are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes, father." Came the response, along with an eyeroll – not that her father could see it. "Or, perhaps, is it that you just don't want your daughter beating you at _another_ weapon?" she grinned.

A mock glare was all she got in response from the Knight-Paladin before he stepped through the Wayshrine and back into Darkfall Cave, where their camp was located with its still burning fire and very inviting bedrolls.

Upon her entering Darkfall Cave, Lyra could immediately tell the difference in the way her Wolf treated her. As soon as she was on the other side of the Wayshrine, the Wolf, who had been curled up on the cave floor, jumped to his feet and just stared at Lyra. After a few seconds the Wolf tilted its head to the side as it studied her, the confusion clear in its eyes.

Lyra smiled. "Hey boy, you miss me?"

She 'saw' what she was pretty sure was his eyes widening before he leaped at her, tail wagging. Pushed to the ground by an overexcited Wolf, Lyra became the recipient of an onslaught of face-licking. Her disgusted face soon turned to an annoyed frown as she heard the sound of her father laughing away at her predicament.

She'd get him back for laughing this, of that she was sure.

**Author's Note:**

Yes, I took the liberty of making Hircine a respected hunter amongst the Snow Elves – something that isn't actually rare as both the Bosmer and Khajiit respect and, in some cases, _worship_ the Daedric Prince… plus I wanted an excuse to add in those fluffy doggies! Anyway, do not try that Wolf-befriending tactic at home, I have only tried it once… to Norwegian Wolves… at a sanctuary… under supervision… but it was all I needed to fall in love with the gentle creatures! Wolves are not mindless beasts! Father, Daughter and now family Doggo. What more does anyone need?

Also, tell me what you think of the whole Magicka pulses to see thing. I just pictured her releasing her magic in waves like a sonar to be able to 'see'. She _will_ get her sight back eventually, so I just needed to come up with something to fill in the gap.

Please don't forget to let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!

Anyways,

SAJones.

Toodles!


	3. Chapter 3 - A Strange Letter

**Author's Note:**

Yes, I'm uploading this rather earlier in the day than I have the past two. It is 02:20 in the morning and I am wide awake thanks to my housemate – who is one of those weird 'social people' – throwing a house party. It was _so nice_ of him to inform me that he'd be throwing an all-night house party… oh wait, he didn't tell me crap until the music was already blaring and there were a dozen people in the lounge! So, now I'm getting absolutely no sleep on a university night because of two dozen obnoxiously loud and drunken idiots partying in my lounge. _Hurray_. So, yes, I'm a little annoyed…

Anyway, before I start, I'd just like to say thank you to all the people who have reviewed so far. The responses have been heart-warming – with some amazing people even answering the important question of what Hot Chocolates they drink! Anyhow, the next chapter will be, once again, uploaded in four more days; the seventeenth! Which means that the fifth upload will be on Christmas Day.

**Upload Three – A Strange Letter:**

A newly-turned eleven-year-old Lyra stood guard of the Darkfall Wayshrine, resting on her hip is a simple sword. It was just a training sword – at least, Gelebor had claimed it was a training weapon, but Lyra had a sneaking suspicion that this was actually one of his failed attempts at making her a proper sword – given that she had yet to master the heavy weapon, but the image she would present to any trespassers was obvious. Her Wolf, who she had come to call Achak – meaning 'spirit' in one of the languages of Men, according to Gelebor – was curled up and snoozing around her feet, being useful… as a foot warmer.

Since she had met Achak two years ago, he had grown significantly. Coming up to her shoulders with ease, her father had started work on a saddle for the Wolf. Lyra was, naturally, thrilled at the idea of riding a giant Ice Wolf, though how Achak would react to the saddle she didn't know. Nevertheless, she could barely wait for the saddle to be completed. That was where Gelebor was now, actually. Out in the Vale, hunting a few Vale Deer in order to collect their hides for the saddle.

It wasn't only her Wolf that Lyra had grown even closer to, either. The main pack of Ice Wolves in the Vale, which she had encountered two years earlier, now had a habit of trotting through the Wayshrine and into the cave every few days. While not as closely as Lyra had, Gelebor had also formed a bond with the pack, becoming seen as one of their members by the Alpha as well.

As she stood there, basking in the warmth of her feet, she was scribbling away in her pocket journal. She didn't really have much to write about given how most days were rather repetitive, but she needed to practice her Falmeri writing. It was a very pretty script, but rather complex and hard two write quickly. Like most Mer alphabets, it was based on the Alyeid Alphabet, but Falmeri had gradually developed into a much more beautiful script that drifted far enough away from Alyeid to be barely recognisable.

So, engrossed in practicing her handwriting was she, that Lyra didn't notice Achak perk up and glare towards the entrance to the cavern. It was only once the growling started that Lyra expanded her perception range beyond just a few metres, allowing her to immediately pick up a strange bird swooping towards her with something attached to its leg.

Frowning slightly, Lyra closed and pocketed her journal, before placing a calming hand on Achak's head – causing the large Wolf to cease his growling. As the bird flapped to a near standstill near her, Lyra held out her arm for the strange bird to land on. Lyra quickly set about removing what she now knew to be a letter from the bird's leg. Unable to open the letter with one hand, she moved the bird from her arm and down onto Achak's head – much to his vocal displeasure, not that the bird seemed to mind it all that much.

_Ms. L. Snowglade (A. Potter),_

_First Wayshrine of Auri-El (Darkfall Cave),_

_Chantry of Auri-El,_

_Skyrim,_

_Tamriel (Nirn)._

The slight imprints of the text that she could pick up from the quill painted a worrying picture. Someone knew who she used to be, who she was now, where she was and, by extension, where the Chantry of Auri-El was! This was a significant breach of security; she would have to let father know at once!

But as much as she wanted to leave Achak to guard the Wayshrine as she went to find her father, Lyra couldn't help but feel curious as to what the letter contained. Who knew whether her father would actually let her read what it said once he got a hold of it? So, naturally curious, Lyra flipped the letter over and broke the wax seal.

There were two folded letters inside. The first letter, she read aloud to Achak.

"_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore._

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confederacy of Wizards)_

_Dear Lyra Snowglade,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of necessary books and equipment._

_Term Begins on 1__st__ September. We await your owl by no later than 31__st__ July._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall."_

Accepted to Hogwarts School? Clearly it was a magic school, but who in Oblivion would call their school _Hogwarts_. That just presented a nasty mental image. Also, those titles that the headmaster had had to be made up, right? They just sounded so stupid! What in Oblivion is a Mugwump? And there is no 'International Confederacy of Wizards'!

Sighing, and ignoring the strange look that the bird was giving her, Lyra moved onto the next piece of parchment; the 'list of necessary books and equipment', no doubt.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_UNIFORM:_

_First-year students will require:_

_1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

_COURSE BOOKS:_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) – by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic – by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory – by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration – by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi – by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions – by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection – by Quentin Trimble_

_OTHER EQUIPMENT:_

_1 wand,_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2),_

_1 set glass or crystal phials,_

_1 telescope,_

_1 set brass scales._

_Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad._

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK!_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus_

_Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions_

And now Lyra was even more confused. Why would she need a Wand? Those are just restraining your own ability to a focus. What is a 'telescope' and why did she need one? Why limit pets to those three animals? Is a dog or wolf not allowed? Finally, _why in Oblivion was she prohibited from bringing a _broomstick_ of all things_? Were most magic students expected to clean up after themselves, perhaps?

She could easily guess the contents of most of the books – except the 'Transfiguration' one, but she had a suspicion that was a book on Alteration Magicks. It would make sense, after all. But what on Nirn would she need _Dragon Hide _gloves for? Only Emperors and Kings could afford to have Dragon hide clothing – and even then, it was generally a small decorative piece. A pair of gloves would cost enough to buy a small kingdom! Dragons are extinct, after all… then again, so are Snow Elves, so who knows whether that is true or not.

Sighing, Lyra just got the miniature quill out of her pocket journal and proceeded to write three simple words in response, in big black ink, in the middle of the letter. After which, she simply folded up the two pieces of parchment, stuck them back in the envelope and tied it back to the bird's leg. Shortly before the bird flew off again, she gave it a few pieces of dried meat to eat.

As the bird few off, leaving a grumbling Ice Wolf behind scratching at its messed-up head fur, Lyra could only sigh once more. An incident as bizarre as this would be hard to convince her father of. She should have kept the envelope at least. But Achak would back her up, right?

Another glance at the grumbling Wolf made her doubt that. The upset mutt would probably deny it out of spite for the whole bird-plus-head thing. Lyra would have to convince her father on her own…

**Author's Note:**

Aaaaaand here comes the Harry Potter side of things!

Nobody seemed to be upset with my decision to get a family doggie or add in Hircine as a respected figure to the Snow Elves in the last upload. So, I'll just ask one thing; if offered, should Lyra accept Hircine's _real_ blessing as I mentioned many Snow Elves did before? What would her reaction to Lupin be then?

Also, grumpy Wolf with an Owl on his head – that image just popped into my mind and I just _had_ to add it in. So, yes, to the people who had reviewed asking if Achak would get a name – yes, yes he did. As for the reviewer who asked if he'd get his own set of armour… well, that actually hadn't occurred to me. If he did, it would have to be light armour – likely just hide armour – so as not to slow him down, and it would have to be kept out of the way, so as not to impede his movement, which would probably just make it so that most of him is without armour anyway. So, simply put; if he does get armour, it won't be a full set of steel armour covering him from snout to tail, I'm afraid, as that is just not practical.

Now for the line you are likely expecting; Please don't forget to let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!


	4. Chapter 4 – A Surprising Revelation

**Author's Note:**

I'm uploading this a day early to get it out of the way, since I have an assignment due in on the eighteenth. I will, however be keeping on schedule with the other uploads, so expect the fifth upload on the twenty-first (Not at Christmas like my half-dead brain wrote in the last upload).

A lot of people showed confusion at how the Hogwarts Owl got to Nirn, but don't worry! It is speculated on by Lyra and Gelebor in this chapter. I didn't realise that the explanation was in another part of the story when I carved the story up into several upload-able sections. Anyway, so here's the explanation.

Also, the only people who responded to my question of whether Lyra should accept Hircine's gift were people who said yes. It's still a short way off for now, so you can still respond, but at the moment it is running at a yes.

**Upload Four – A Surprising Revelation:**

Lyra stood guard to the entrance of the Wayshrine again, Achak wrapped around her feet. Gelebor was still in the cave but was having a rest by the fire while contemplating what she had told him about yesterday's events. Gelebor knew about what she had been through before coming to Nirn, she'd told him about it quite early on, after all, so when Gelebor had proposed that the strange letter came from Earth-based Mages, it was a lot to take in.

She didn't know of any magic on Earth but couldn't deny the possibility. So, Gelebor had informed her that they would be stepping up her training from then on. She had to be prepared if the mages from her world attempted anything again.

The young Snow Elf sighed, she just wished that her past would leave her alone. Lyra was perfectly happy living her life with her father, she was constantly learning, improving and had dreams to one day restore the Chantry to its past glory – a bit lofty of a goal, but one she was dedicated to achieving nonetheless.

Her father let out what must have been the twentieth sigh of the day, causing her Lyra to let out one of her own. "Are you just going to keep moping all day, father? If I haven't made it clear to you that I have no intention of going back to Earth, then you are too dense for your own good!" Lyra snapped, finally growing tired of his sulking.

Gelebor chuckled lightly. "I know, it's just… even if you don't go back to Earth, one day you will want to leave this cave and explore the world. I guess… I guess the letter just drove that home for me." Her father explained.

Lyra rolled her eyes behind her blindfold. "All chicks must leave the nest at one point. But that is a long way off, and there is nothing that would keep me from coming back before long." She chuckled, "after all, you're helpless without me." Lyra was grinning at that.

Her father couldn't help but chuckle, too. "You know, I could always chain you to your bedroll…"

"Just you try it, old man" came the quick retort. "Besides, wild mammoths couldn't keep me away."

"You and your weird expressions." He mumbled, though it was clear he was no longer in his mood. "But you are right. I am being silly."

"Yes, you are."

"I am a Knight-Paladin." Gelebor announced.

"Yes, you are."

"A warrior of Auri-El."

"Yes, you are."

"I… am also your father."

Lyra moved over to the now-standing Gelebor and threw her arms around his armoured chest. "Yes, you are." She paused, wrinkling her nose. "You also smell, when was the last time you bathed?"

"Hey! Rude."

"yes, I am." The identical grins on their faces were broad and carefree.

The two settled back into silence again, though Lyra did not let go of her father. That's right – _her_ father. She didn't care about this other world. Everything she cared for; her father, Achak, the Chantry, Auri-El. It was all here. Speaking of here… just how did that letter manage to travel to Mundus anyway?

"Father?"

"Hmm?"

Lyra pulled back slightly to look at her father. "I only managed to come to this world because Auri-El intervened and brought me here, right?" such was the consensus the two had come to about her _unique_ circumstances. When her father nodded, looking at her curiously, Lyra carried on. "Then how did the bird come here with the letter?"

Gelebor froze at that. He highly doubted there was such a thing as a bird that could hop between worlds – outside of Daedra, though he doubted a Daedra would bring her a letter as bizarre as Lyra had told him of. Did that mean… "You think Auri-El wished that it be brought here?"

"It could be, right?" Lyra asked. She didn't wait for an answer however. "What if Auri-El made sure that the bird delivered the letter as a test? Does he want me to go to Hogwarts? Does he want to test my resolve about staying? I… I just don't understand!"

Silence reigned for a few seconds as Gelebor thought over what his daughter had said, unintentionally leaving Lyra in the midst of an internal panic. "No, Lyra. I do not think this is a test. The only test he will give you is the initiate trials that you will undertake on your thirteenth Winter – and later, if you so choose, the test to become a Paladin. I think that Auri-El may have made sure you got the letter in order to give you a choice."

"Then what should I choose, father? If I go, who's to say I can come back? If I don't go, what if I am failing Auri-El?" Lyra gripped tightly to her father. There were two people in all of existence that she would do anything to please; her father… and Auri-El. She could only pray that she'd never have to choose.

"I don't know, my child. I don't know."

Minerva McGonagall sat in her office sipping away at some Firewhiskey – probably the last glass she'd be able to sneak in before term started. She had just received confirmation letters from all the Wizarding Families of Britain and was just writing up a list of all the Muggleborns that she'd have to make personal visits to, in order to make sure they knew the letter was legitimate. The list was almost finished when an owl flew in through her window, dropping a letter at her desk.

The Witch frowned as she picked up the letter. There were no Wizarding Families that hadn't responded. Did a Muggle family somehow get their hands on a Magic owl? There was no way, right? She got her answer when she brought the letter closer.

_Ms. L. Snowglade (A. Potter),_

McGonagall was stunned. A. Potter? Alyssa Potter? That girl had died years ago! McGonagall had cried on and off for a whole year upon hearing that her Goddaughter had died. It was only after she had confronted the Potters that she realised the girl wasn't just 'socially awkward' as they had claimed every time that she had come to visit the two Potter children, but that they had dumped her at the Dursley's house – Lily's vile sister.

Petunia Dursley was a disgusting, hate-filled woman. Her Husband was an overweight, arrogant and violent man. With their child being a spoilt, fat pile of arrogance – a smaller version of his father. The two Dursley's, after Alyssa's name had had vanished from the Hogwarts book of students, had been subject of a standard visit from the Ministry of Magic, where it was found that the girl had been murdered by the Dursleys – though not before the family had spent years treating her worse than a House Elf.

At first, the Potter's influence had managed to keep it under wraps. That soon changed, however, when a certain insect reporter had found out about the incident and wrote an article about it – the first act of said reporter that McGonagall had ever supported. Once it was out there, it could not be taken back. The Potters had claimed Alyssa was a squib and was sent to her aunt and uncles so that she could live a normal life, something that was an outright lie. While the Potters may have been sorrowful about the girl's death, the mere fact that they'd tried to cover up the blatant abandonment and subsequent death of their daughter was horrific! Not that the majority of the Wizarding World cared for long, moving their focus back to their saviour – After all, why would they care for a 'squib'.

McGonagall, however, had given her two former students a severe talking to. By the time her rant had finished, three hours had passed and both Potters were in tears. Feeling guilty didn't mean a damned thing when there was a young girl now resting in the ground. They did arrange a proper funeral – despite the body having been, reportedly, 'turned to dust in a final act of accidental magic', in which the Potters had made their regrets over giving her away clear, while others who did not actually know the girl just gave half-hearted condolences. McGonagall, however, spent most of it glaring at the two Potters and watching in disgust as the Boy-Who-Lived took every opportunity to turn the spotlight to him.

But if Alyssa was alive, living her life as someone else, then she could come to Hogwarts! For the first time in a long time, a true smile graced the elderly Witch's face, as she opened the letter and withdrew the contents. Her smile immediately died, however, when she saw – in big black letters – three words written on the letter.

'_No Thank You'._

Alyssa turned down the offer to come to Hogwarts?

Minerva should not have been surprised. Maybe she remembered how her family had treated her, causing her to dislike the Wizarding World? But perhaps she could find Alyssa and talk her into coming? Let her know that she had someone who would watch out for her? Grabbing the envelope that she had put to the side upon extracting the contents, the professor looked at the location listed, only to frown in confusion.

_Ms. L. Snowglade (A. Potter),_

_First Wayshrine of Auri-El (Darkfall Cave),_

_Chantry of Auri-El,_

_Skyrim,_

_Tamriel (Nirn)._

First Wayshrine of Auri-El? Chantry of Auri-El? Skyrim? Tamriel? Nirn? What in Merlin's name was this all about? There was no way that the Hogwarts quill could be wrong about the address – given that not even the strongest Confundus Charm could make that quill do anything incorrectly. So, she just had to find out where there Tamriel was and narrow it down all the way to this Wayshrine… how hard could that be?

Yes, she just had to talk to Dumbledore. He'd sort this all out! With more energy than she'd displayed in years, the elderly Witch ran from the room, intent of reaching the Headmaster's office as soon as Humanly possible.

**Author's Note:**

I hope this satisfies the 'how' on the letter reaching Lyra. Sorry if it feels a bit rushed, but I haven't had the chance to go over it properly since the deadlines for assignments are closing in.

One more thing; I've been working on yet another story during my free time (I don't have free time, I'm just bad at focusing on work) called 'Raised by Nocturnal'. The title is pretty self-explanatory, but when I sat down and started to write this story, I only knew that I wanted Alyssa to be raised in Mundus. So, I came up with two options; this story here, and 'Raised by Nocturnal'. I'm not going to upload the new story until 01/01/2020, but I figured I'd announce it and see what the interest is for a story about Alyssa being raised by a Daedric Prince. Also considering renaming it to 'Princess of the Evergloam', though not sure on that. It just started as an alternate option to this story, but this story won out, though I didn't abandon the second option.

Anyway, please don't forget to let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!

SAJones.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Truth Hurts

**Author's Note:**

I got out my Xbox One to replay my remastered Skyrim addition after I uploaded my Uni assignment, but it died… So, the facts that I am using are mostly from my own head and the Wiki, sorry for any discrepancies from now on. I have two options now, get a new expensive Xbox (not gonna happen), or buy Skyrim on Steam during the boxing day sales. PC Skyrim has a lot of great Snow Elf mods on , too, like; adoptable Snow Elf twins, Snow Elf followers, Snow Elf Player Homes, playable Snow Elf race… Well, that just made up my mind!

Also, I'm kinda tempted to add in a few more Snow Elves later on. Gelebor did say in the game that it is possible other enclaves of Snow Elves exist… also, those adoptable Snow Elf twins from the mod are so adorable I just wanna write them into my story! But I'm getting ahead of myself, whether I do or do not is a long way off yet! Hell, Lyra hadn't even undergone her initiate trials, let alone mastered combat magics, so there is no way she'd be allowed to leave and go into the wider world of Nirn to look just yet.

Now, I have a slight confession to make. Until yesterday, I had seven uploads ready… but it seems I made a massive mistake in terms of timeline at the end of the original draft for this chapter. After reworking this chapter, I had rendered the next two chapters as useless. I'm currently working my way through chapter six, which will be uploaded on Christmas, but I'm not exactly far into it. I'll have it ready, of that I'm sure, but with how hectic the week before Christmas is, I'm not sure if it will seem rushed or whether it will be all that long. Nevertheless, I'll try my best for you all! I collect all the reviews and put them into a document that I can look at as I type away, hopefully this will allow me to shape the story into something you all love, so please don't forget to review!

Anyway, without further ado, let's get into the fifth upload!

**Upload Five – The Truth Hurts**

McGonagall's breaths were coming out in quick puffs as she slowed from her fast-paced walk down to a halt. Realising, only upon slowing, that she could have just flooed from her office to Dumbledore's.

"Orange Fairies." Was all that needed to be muttered to gain access to Dumbledore's office. She wondered, not for the first time, why exactly she set the gargoyle's password to such silly names. Then again, he was getting on in years – regardless of power, age comes for everyone after all. A decade ago, McGonagall would have followed Dumbledore's every word as if it were her bible, now, though? Well, let's just say that her viewing him as all-knowing ceased upon Alyssa's supposed death, after all, why didn't the Headmaster put a stop to it? Surely, he knew?

Nevertheless, the moment that the gargoyle was out of the way, the elderly professor resumed her quick pace to Dumbledore's office, not bothering to knock on the door separating the staircase from his office and barging straight in.

"Albus, you need to see-" she stopped.

Three faces had turned to look at her upon her quick and rather rude entrance to the office; Albus Dumbledore… and the Potters. The letter that was in McGonagall's hands was getting crinkled in her tight grip as she laid eyes on the two responsible for everything, a glare solidly placed on her face.

Dumbledore sighed upon seeing her glare. "Minerva, don't you think it is time that you let the past go? Alyssa is dead and she is not coming back."

This only shifted the full glare straight over to Dumbledore. "You told me you verified her death." She said simply, voice quiet, but solid.

Dumbledore frowned. "I did. The ash that was on the ground contained the faint magical signature of Alyssa. Legilimency done on the Dursley's also showed that it was indeed Alyssa. Come now, Minerva. Where is this coming from?"

With purposeful strides forward, her eyes never leaving his, she reached his desk and slammed the letter down with the full force that her aging muscles were able to achieve. Only once the letter was out of her grasp and on the table did she let go and shift her glare back to the two Potter's who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

Next to her, Dumbledore reached forward to grab the letter, his frown staying in place. Said frown, however, quickly morphed into surprise as he brought the letter close enough to read. "Impossible." He muttered.

"Albus?" Lily asked concerned, "What is it?" the redhead, unlike her arrogant husband, was clearly confused and uncomfortable at the recent turn of events.

Dumbledore just looked up at Lily, then James, and back to the letter.

McGonagall was getting impatient – a very rare occurrence for her. "Open it"

"I'm sorry?" the Headmaster asked, confused."

"I said open it. Look at her response."

He did so, pulling the two letters out from within. A quick glance over the list of school supplies saw no response, so he placed it aside before unfolding the remaining letter – the acceptance notification. He needn't look too hard to see the three big black words '_No Thank You'_ sitting towards the bottom the letter.

"Sh-She refused?" he asked, scarcely believing it. Nobody had refused a Hogwarts invitation since long before he started as Headmaster.

"Yes, she did." McGonagall said simply, still not wavering in her glare at the Potters – to think she once called them both her favourite students. "And I don't blame her in the slightest. _However_, I do need to borrow Fawkes."

"I hardly think-", Dumbledore started to protest before the male Potter seemingly lost his patience.

"What in Merlin's name is going on already?!" Manners never were his strong suit.

The two women in the room turned glares to James Potter at his outburst, though Lily's did not last nearly as long as the Deputy Headmistress's glare. In response to the less-than-polite inquiry, the Headmaster just took the envelope and acceptance notice in his hand and handed them over the Potters sitting in front of him.

Lily's eyes widened in shock upon seeing the letter's intended recipient, while James just frowned. It was clear that the Lord Potter did not believe it was real, though Lily, who was a Ravenclaw for a reason, knew that the Hogwarts Quill could never be wrong as it was powered by the Hogwarts Magic and guided by the sentience of the castle itself; Lady Hogwarts – as the sentience of Hogwarts was sometimes referred to as.

James Potter's frown, however, soon changed to match Lily's surprise upon Dumbledore's confirming nod. Shock that was only increased upon seeing the refusal written on the acceptance notice.

Lily seemed ready to burst into tears, while James looked to be still wrapping his head around it, but Minerva McGonagall didn't care much for either right now. "Albus, I'll say this only once more; I need to borrow Fawkes – he can follow the residual magic trail like no other."

"Of course, I'll be coming, too." Albus said, though he cut of McGonagall as she had opened her mouth to refuse. "That is not up for debate, I am coming."

"So are we." James all-but demanded.

"No." Both professors stated at once, surprising both Potters, and each other.

The Headmaster spoke before the Deputy Headmistress could. "Fawkes will not be able to carry four grown adults _and_ a returning Alyssa… or _Ms L. Snowglade_ as the letter says she now goes by." She explained softly. "Besides, we do not know what is waiting for us at this _Chantry_ place. You must think of your son."

That last part was all that needed saying as both Potters sat down from where they had jumped up. McGonagall had to hold back from rolling her eyes; even when the Potters realise their _daughter_ was still alive, they place their precious Boy-Who-Lived above her – not willing to even take a risk for her.

The rest of the Elderly Witch's train of thought was cut off at Dumbledore's yell of "Fawkes!".

McGonagall's world turned red and orange as bright flames engulfed the two oldest magic-users in the room, leaving only the two Potters staring at the letter confirming their daughter's survival. Had Fawkes been a moment slower, the two Professors would have head Lily's next words. "Oh, James, what have we done… to our own daughter…"

Knight-Paladin Gelebor Snowglade and an aspiring-to-be Mage-Paladin Lyra Snowglade both sat on the steps of the Wayshrine, talking about everything, yet nothing. Each trying to forget about the Oblivion-damned letter that had shaken them both up.

Their father-daughter talk was interrupted with a sudden burst of light on the other side of the cavern. Thinking it was another of Auri-El's interventions the two did not immediately draw their weapons, but that thought quickly left their heads as the light remained too long, causing both to quickly unsheathe their weapons. "No." Her father told her. "Get out your bow, stay behind me and back me up."

Lyra nodded, before following instructions. Nocking a Sunhallowed arrow and taking aim at the source of the light. Unlike her father, who had to squint against the glaring light, Lyra could 'see' it perfectly – likely meaning it wasn't exactly light, but something that gave off lots of light. Something was forming in the middle of the light – wait, no, it was as if the light was coalescing into… well, _something_.

"A type of portal?" Her father muttered in question to himself, holding his mace out before him, ready to dash forward or block at a moment's notice. Achak moved alongside him, ready to pounce the moment Gelebor made a move – the newly-made saddle sitting upon his back. Lyra hadn't even had a chance to test it out yet.

Steadying her hands, Lyra could do nothing but wait as her father made a few hesitant steps towards it, Achak staying with him the entire way. Her father was no more than a dozen metres away when the 'light' began to dissipate and the first of the beings that came to exit became visible, causing the Knight-Paladin to leap back a few metres and increase his grip on his mace. To say that what exited the portal wasn't what Lyra was expecting would be an understatement.

**Author's Note:**

For those who thought that my 'Raised by Nocturnal' story sounded interesting, thank you for letting me know! I'm trying to keep it as realistic as you can make a 'semi-deity raising a mortal' kind of fiction. Also, the suggestion that I make her be a kleptomaniac was a great one that I can't believe I overlooked. I've already overtaken _Auri-El's Intervention_ in word count with the new story, which surprised me, but I guess an evening of non-stop typing will do that.

Anyway, please don't forget to let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!


	6. Chapter 6 - Darkfall Intruders

**Author's Note:**

Helloes! I hear it is Christmas, so I will likely be dragged out of my house later by the family to _socialise_… I know, such a horrific fate. Anyhow, I got myself Skyrim Special Edition on steam a few days ago and this chapter nearly didn't happen because of it. I have had to sit down and spend most of Christmas Day writing it. I promised I'd have another upload out today, so I forced my brain to cooperate. Please note that I may or may not have drunk my way through a liquor store before writing this, so please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes that I may have missed.

**Upload Six – Darkfall Intruders:**

_Steadying her hands, Lyra could do nothing but wait as her father made a few hesitant steps towards it, Achak staying with him the entire way. Her father was no more than a dozen metres away when the 'light' began to dissipate and the first of the beings that came to exit became visible, causing the Knight-Paladin to leap back a few metres and increase his grip on his mace. To say that what exited the portal wasn't what Lyra was expecting would be an understatement._

Time seemed to stop as the 'flame-like portal-thing' – as dubbed in Lyra's head – fully dissipated and left two beings clearly visible. Immediately, Lyra could see that the two new figures had locked eyes with her father, after glancing at the not-so-friendly-looking Wolf snarling at them.

The first and most obvious of the two new people, was what appeared to be an _ancient_ Imperial with a massive white beard. Both the long white beard that fell to his waist and the half-moon spectacles gave the old man a rather grandfatherly appearance. That being said, he was clearly senile as shown by his atrocious fashion sense. Lyra may not be able to see the colours, but with her ability able to focus in just enough to see the dozens of embroidered stars all across the most bizarre robe she'd ever seen… well, even a blind girl could tell he was mad to wear such a thing.

Lyra's attention then moved to the figure next to him. An elderly woman, though seemingly nowhere near the age of the first man, stood stiffly and with the bearing of a no-nonsense woman. She, like her companion, appeared to be of the Imperial race of Man. Also, while this woman clearly had a _somewhat_ better fashion sense given that her clothes lacked needless decoration, was still dressed in that same strange type of robe – topped off with a pointed hat. Luckily, the impression Lyra got was that she was not as senile as the first man.

The seemingly frozen moment of time was broken when her father, not taking his eyes off of the two trespassers, spoke to her in Falmeri – a language he was sure that a pair of Imperials would not understand. "_If they attack, run through the Wayshrine. I can likely hold them off long enough to deactivate it."_

Lyra growled, drawing both sets of Imperial eyes to her. _"I will not abandon you, father. Whatever these trespassers want, they shall find no easy conquest here._"

"_This is not up for discussion, Lyra."_ Her father ordered, his tone harsh. "_If they attack, you _will_ run through the Wayshrine and not look back. The pack will shelter you until I come and get you, do you understand?"_

"_Yes, father_." Lyra ground out, though they both knew she wouldn't if it came down to it. She was far too loyal to her father to let him fight alone. Achak would likely leap into the fight, adding just another reason for Lyra to stay – both of the beings that she considered family were in the cavern with her, so would not leave them.

Not wanting to stretch the awkward silence on any longer, the Knight-Paladin got straight down to the point. "Identify yourselves!", he ordered, brandishing his mace, as Achak growled a threatening growl to add emphasis to the words.

Silence reigned for a few seconds before the Imperial man spoke up. "I am Headmaster Albus Dumbledore from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, this here is my Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. We are simply those who come as a follow up to a rejected Hogwarts invitation letter – as is standard procedure. So, if you'd kindly introduce us to a Lyra Snowglade, formerly Alyssa Potter, we can get this over with quickly. But, first, might I know whom I just introduced myself to?"

Neither Lyra nor her father reacted when her name was spoken, but each were inwardly cursing that damned letter. After another few seconds, Gelebor spoke up. "I am Knight-Paladin Gelebor of the Chantry Paladin Order, based in the Chantry of Auri-El." Gelebor left off there, wanting to see what the intruders would do, while also not bringing up Lyra.

"Well met, Knight-Paladin Gelebor." Came the polite response from the male, while the female did a polite bow. "The address on the letter certainly did mention a Chantry of Auri-El, though I must admit I'm not exactly sure who or what Auri-El is. If it is not too rude of me to ask, might I enquire as to what your species is?"

"_Father."_ Lyra spoke up again to Gelebor. "_Even those who know Auri-El as Akatosh would at least know of his other names in passing. Do you… do you think these trespassers really are from my old world?"_

"_I do not know, my child. But I will find out."_ The Knight-Paladin did not relax his stance in the slightest and continued to eye the two invaders cautiously. Gelebor then moved to reply to the old Imperial's question. "We are mostly known by your kind as Snow Elves, or Ancient Falmer. My daughter has referred to us several times as Untainted Falmer, and that is fine too."

The Headmaster frowned slightly, though only for a second. "I see, I do not know of your race. Would you be willing to let me interview you on-".

"Headmaster Dumbledore." Her father interrupted. "I am still trying to decide whether or not you are a threat to the Chantry, so how about we stay on topic for now?"

"Of course, I only meant to-", Dumbledore started, only to get interrupted a second time, though this time the cause of the interruption was from the Deputy Headmistress that had come with him.

"If you do not mind," she was completely ignoring Dumbledore at this point, turning her attention solely to Gelebor. "I'd very much like to meet with the girl now known as Lyra Snowglade."

Lyra took a few steps forward, though did not lower her bow, and pointedly ignored her father's warning look. They were never going to find anything out if they kept getting off-topic. "I am Lyra Snowglade." Lyra announced, catching everyone's attention and finally answering the question that would get everything moving. "Before my God Auri-El remoulded my form and gave me new life, I was once a Human called Alyssa Potter. Though I have absolutely no desire to return to that life." She stated simply.

"_Lyra, what are you doing?"_ Her father muttered to her in Falmeri.

"_Learning what in Oblivion is going on. Your way is taking too long."_

"_You are putting yourself at risk." _Came her father's retort.

"_There is a are only two of them. We are two, plus Achak, and I can sense the other Wolves keeping quiet on the other side of the Wayshrine. If they try anything, they will get swamped by angry Wolves."_ Lyra exclaimed. "_How are we at risk against two elderly Imperials?" _Gelebor had no comeback to that and they both knew it. So, the elder of the two Snow Elves in the cave grudgingly allowed Lyra to keep moving forward, coming to a halt beside Achak.

The woman who had introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall spoke up, a hopeful look filling her elderly features. "Lyra. Upon your birth, I was named you godmother. I know I failed in that duty by not ensuring your well-being, but your birth-parents would always tell me you were ill, or uncomfortable around visitors. By the time I found out, it was too late, and you had been... killed." She paused. "and I know this is selfish of me, but I'd like the chance to get to know you. All I ask from you is that you give Hogwarts a chance."

Lyra had stiffened a lot upon the mentioning of her birth-parents, but the old woman's desire to reconnect with her seemed sincere. "This… _school_. Tell me about it." Lyra said, wanting more information.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the British Wizarding school, located in the Scottish Highlands. It accepts magical students from Great Britain and Ireland for enrolment." The Professor explained, seemingly entering a 'lecture mode'. "Established around the 10th century, Hogwarts is considered to be one of the finest magical institutions in the Wizarding World, though other notable schools include Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, the Durmstrang Institute in Scandinavia, and Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United States. Children with magical abilities are enrolled at birth. There, you can learn things like Charms, Astronomy, Transfiguration and other areas of magic study." She paused. "I'm not asking you to commit to it all… but, please, give it a chance – a single term is all I ask; ninety days."

"You ask me to re-join to a world that scorned me, beat me down and _murdered_ me." Lyra frowned. "I cannot do such a thing. I am sorry."

McGonagall looked crestfallen, but quickly spoke up again, cutting of Dumbledore who had opened his mouth to respond to Lyra. "Then, how about this. One shopping trip. Let us go buy the supplies that you would need for Hogwarts. If the shopping alley of Diagon Alley doesn't show that the Magical World is far larger than you knew, then nothing will." The elderly Witch was basically pleading at this. "Just a few hours, that is all."

"Just a shopping trip?" Lyra asked. Was she really that desperate for her Lyra to give her, and the world she left behind, but a chance?

"Just a shopping trip." McGonagall confirmed. "I can even give you a magical vow that no harm will come to you, if needed."

"How sure are you we'd be able to come back?"

"Absolutely, Fawkes knows the way now… even if it did feel like he wasn't fully the one flying us here." It was the Headmaster who responded this time, a look of confusion appeared on his face.

Lyra thought about it for a while. If she accepted, she would be putting herself in grave danger. She didn't know what a magical vow was, but the woman before her definitely seemed desperate in her need to connect with her. Plus, she could not deny that she was immensely curious about the magical community of Earth – she had been dumped at the Dursley's with barely a few memories of her actual birth parents, but nothing about any Earth magic, other than the few accidental bursts she'd had at the Dursley's.

"What happened to the Dursley's?" Lyra asked.

The Witch seemed slightly thrown off by the question but answered quickly enough. "The adults were sentenced to life-imprisonment in Azkaban for abusing a magical child, with the boy being Obliviated and left outside a muggle hospital."

Seemingly having made up her mind, Lyra turned to her father. "_One shopping trip?_"

"_I cannot talk you out of this?"_ It was more of a statement than a question, Gelebor knew his daughter well. She would not turn down the possibility to explore a wonderous new place… plus she had seemingly taken after his own stubbornness. Lyra just shook her head in response. "_Very well, but I shall have both these Imperials swear a vow on their honour – I don't care for this magical vow as I know nothing of it."_

Relaying his conditions to both the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, Lyra watched as the elderly woman's features lit up with hope. Vows were exchanged and the two teachers summoned a bird that would seemingly take them back. It seemed that Lyra was taking a trip to Earth. She only hoped it would be a much better experience than last time.

After all, she _died_ last time.

**Author's Note:**

Just an update on my upcoming 'Raised by Nocturnal' (or 'Princess of the Evergloam' – I haven't fully decided yet). It has exceeded the word count for this story. I do still intend to release it, as I have previously mentioned, on the first of January, but since I have two assignments due in on the third that are still not complete… well, I may extend that by a week, I'm not sure yet. Anyway, wanted to let you all know as several have expressed interest in the story.

I am aware that many of you wonderful viewers likely want longer chapters, and I will try my hardest to deliver such, but please bear in mind that I am a full-time university student in their last and most difficult year. As I said, I'll try my best, but I cannot make any promises because, as much as I love writing, my education must be my priority. Add to that the fact that I am also writing the 'Raised by Nocturnal' story at the same time and… well, I'm sure the picture is quite clear.

One quick question before I finish; What Hogwarts House should Lyra belong to? She is certainly brave, but her time with the Dursley's and the tactical training from Gelebor has taught her to be cautious and think things through before acting – unlike most bull-headed Gryffindors. Loyalty is something that Lyra has in spades… to her father and Achak, but pretty much no one else unless they earn it so Hufflepuff may not be the best fit. Slytherin is a maybe because of her ambition to become a Mage-Paladin and rebuild the Chantry, but she may lack the cunning and ability to set her morals aside to get what she wants. As for Ravenclaw, that sounds the most likely, but I'm still not sure if she places gaining knowledge above everything else.

I don't feel like doing a run-of-the-mill Gryffindor story, while Slytherin stories are also becoming quite frequent, but I'm trying to shape this in the way that you, the readers, will enjoy so please let me know what you want to see! Also, I don't have this planned to be a redemption fic for James and Lily, but if you want it to be so, let me know.

Please let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!


	7. Chapter 7 - Diagon Alley Part One

**Author's Note:**

Wow, once again this chapter nearly didn't happen. Evil assignments keep getting in the way. Of course, they would be done now if I didn't keep opening Skyrim… accidently, of course.

Okay, I've been doing assignments for the past six hours straight, with no breaks, and am about to collapse onto my bed for the next twelve hours, so I'm a little rushed at getting this out. Sorry if there are a few errors. I also did intend to have the 'Diagon Alley' section to be all one part, but I just ran out of time. Once the two assignments for the third of January are handed in, I will have a bit more time – provided Skyrim doesn't kidnap me again – and will thus be able to – hopefully – write longer chapters for you.

**Upload Seven – Diagon Alley Part One:**

Lyra, alongside the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, appeared in a quiet corner of Diagon Alley in a flash of orange and red. The Headmaster, who was required back at the school, had caused them to take a detour before ordering his bird to take the two females to a 'Diagon Alley'. A few looks were drawn their way, and lingered on Lyra, but since her father had helped her sort out her hair so that it was both presentable and covered her ears, she just looked like an albino Human, and that was before she'd pulled up the hood to her initiates robes that now shadowed her face.

She was oddly dressed to the eyes of the Humans here, yes, but at the very least, the chances of them seeing she wasn't Human for the duration of this shopping trip were very slim. She also didn't mention to the two teachers upon leaving that her robes were currently hiding several daggers for self-defence. She had left Achak with Gelebor just to make sure the Wayshrine was safe and that nobody paid them a surprise visit after she'd left. Besides, something told her that a giant Wolf in a populated area was not the best idea.

As the magic of this world flowed through her, she noted with curiousity that the magic felt different to her. She turned to the Professor, "The magic here feels different – you can almost taste it. Why?" Lyra asked, hoping to get an answer to her question.

Sadly, she didn't get a satisfying one. "I am afraid I do not know what you mean, Lyra." She explained with a frown. "Though that may be lack of exposure to the magic from your home, on my part."

Lyra merely nodded, reaching out with her senses to observe as much of Diagon Alley as she could. The narrow street wasn't particularly busy as it was nearing the end of the shopping day, but there was still a more significant amount of people than Lyra was used to being around. Had she been showing more skin, she'd have stuck out like a Mammoth among a herd of Gaur among these strange people.

Lyra didn't really know what to make of everything, if she was being honest. She had scattered memories of her birth-parent's faces, a few memories from the Dursley's she hadn't managed to supress yet and that was pretty much it for all she knew about this world. It made her nervous being in an unknown place.

"Where to first?" Lyra absently asked the elderly Witch at her side, not taking her 'eyes' off of the scene around her.

She wasn't paying close enough attention, but if she had, she'd have seen McGonagall smile. "To get you your wand, of course! Can't do proper magic without it."

There was an eyebrow raised behind a blindfold, but it remained unseen. She didn't mention that none of the magic in Tamriel required a wand. Sure, a few high-level spells were often put into staffs for easier casting, but that was about it – and they could still be cast without a wand if a Mage were powerful enough to learn the spell and had enough Magicka reserves to cope with their sheer cost of such a spell.

Magi foci were made for convenience in Tamriel, but it seemed that they were made here as a necessity. It made her wonder if, had she not been remoulded by Auri-El, would she had to use a focus like these people?

Following behind the Witch, Lyra had to focus on keeping her silhouette in sight, otherwise she wouldn't be able to tell the difference between her and all the other strangely dressed Wizarding folk around. To do this, she had to significantly reduce her perception distance to prevent any distraction.

After a minute of weaving through the throngs of people, McGonagall entered a shop. Slightly increasing her perception range allowed her to gain 'sight' of the shop sign; Ollivanders. Lyra followed the Professor in after only a second. What she found was a dust-filled shop full of boxes – said dust causing her perception to become fuzzy and distorted.

Coming to a stop in front of the counter, the Professor just stood next to her expectantly, as if waiting for something. The moment of quiet only served to give Lyra more of a chance to study her fuzzy surroundings. She assumed that each of the many boxes around held a wand, or several wands, each. There had to be thousands upon thousands of wands around the room!

In a sudden burst of movement, an old Wizard was right next to her, looking her over curiously. Startled, Lyra jumped back a good metre and her dagger was instantly raised protectively in front of her.

While the Professor just watched on in amusement, the Wizard in front of her just continued to study her. "Well, that is a first." He muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "Most Wizarding folk see bladed weapons as below them – ceremonial at most. Good to see not everyone has abandoned them, rather like them myself. Now; I don't recognise you, so I'll wager a guess that I haven't sold wands to your parents…" The old Wizard rambled to himself.

After a moment, McGonagall cleared her throat. "Mr. Ollivander." She said sternly, catching his attention. "This is Lyra Snowglade. She is here for a wand, if you don't mind."

"You are right, of course! We'll find the wand that chooses you, not to worry!" the man exclaimed, moving to a nearby shelf. The Wizard then spent several seconds simply moving his gaze from box to box, muttering something about 'swishy' and 'flexible'. Quite honestly, Lyra just thought the man was a lunatic – someone who'd fit in quite well in the Shivering Isles.

After a few moments, she was pulled from her thoughts as a small polished stick was held out to her. "Twelve inches, unicorn hair, willow and swishy." The crazy Wizard smiled, as if that was meant to mean something to her.

Taking the wand from the coot, she merely spun the thing in her hand slightly to get a better look at it, but as she did the damned thing just started smoking. And not even a little, there was an absurd amount of smoke billowing from the tip of it! Despite nobody seeing it, she rolled her eyes, before placing the wand back on the counter. "So, not my match?" it was more of a drawled statement than a question as she stepped back from the stick.

"Uh… no." Ollivander was glancing back and forth between the wand and Lyra. "Never seen that reaction before… and I've seen them all."

Lyra just raised an eyebrow – again unseen.

As several awkward seconds began to pass, Ollivander still looking at the young girl before him curiously, McGonagall was once again the one to move him into action with another throat clearing and stern name-mentioning – something she seemed to be good at. He seemed to get the message and hurried back into the shelves of his store once more, looking over several boxes, reaching out to some, but changing his mind and keeping searching.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, grabbing another box, before moving back to the counter. "Try this one; Oak, ten inches, dragon heartstring and stiff."

Taking the wand from the presented box, Lyra once again gave it a twirl. Nothing. A flick. Nothing. Nothing she did got a response from it, so she just placed it back in the box with Ollivander once again observing her oddly.

"You're a strange one, Miss Snowglade. Usually, based on the reactions of the wands, I can tell what sort of thing to try next. But you… the wands react in bizarre ways with you."

What followed was nearly two hours of twirling, flicking and waving wands. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not one of the wands even came close to liking her. Ollivander had even tried a wand that he seemed to be scared to so much as touch – exactly why that was, Lyra didn't know, but the man did seem rather insane, so she didn't ask.

It was only after the mad wand-maker had extracted a promise that she brings him a wood and a core from materials that were important to her that he finally allowed her to leave. Apparently, while rare, a person's character just didn't fit to any pre-made wand available, so they had to have one made especially for them. The elderly Professor had suggested that she get wood from a tree in Nirn and perhaps a few hairs from her 'pet wolf'. Lyra had bristled somewhat at the 'pet' part – Achak was clearly more than just a dumb animal – but had agreed to quickly gather the materials and hand them to the Professor upon returning home. That way, if Lyra chose to go to Hogwarts, there would be a wand waiting for her.

Nevertheless, they were finally out the door. With Lyra once again following close to the form of the Professor, to prevent herself getting lost in the bustle of bodies, she listened as their next destination was explained. "Next, I'd suggest we get you your own magic owl in order to facilitate the sending of letters between now and the start of Hogwarts – which means only one place will do; Eeylops Owl Emporium."

'What is with the naming of things here?' Lyra couldn't help but wonder. She also didn't mention to McGonagall that the only reason the owl got to her was likely because of Auri-El's intervention – the elderly Witch was enjoying taking Lyra around the shops, so why ruin her fun?

She was led into yet another shop, only instead of shelves upon shelves of wand boxes, this one had shelves upon shelves of cages. A cacophony of smells and sounds battered her the moment she entered the door.

"Now, then." McGonagall had seemingly entered her lecturing mode again. "Given the rather chilly nature of your home, you'll need an owl that can handle the cold, which cuts down your options a lot. Further cutting them down is the fact that said owl will need to have a significantly larger than average magic core to facilitate travel between your home and Hogwarts – that poor bird coming back from delivering your letter was utterly exhausted."

Lyra, however, was only listening with half an ear as she studied the forms of the birds around her. She'd been told about the birds inhabiting the Vale by Gelebor, and had a few scattered memories of some Earth birds, but that was pretty much it since none of the Vale birds had ever flown with her perception range – not counting the letter-delivering bird that had put Achak in a pout, of course. They were quite the fascinating creatures.

Out of curiosity, Lyra turned to the Professor upon finishing her study of the nearby birds. "Why do you use owls, can other birds be used?"

"Well," McGonagall started, once again slipping into her teaching mode and making Lyra already regret asking. "before owls that were specifically bread for the task came into more frequent use, we would actually use messenger pigeons much the like muggle world. However, with the magical nature of these modified owls we can…"

Okay, asking was definitely a mistake…

Back in his office, Dumbledore sat at his desk, the two Potters sitting before him. They'd witnessed the Headmaster and McGonagall appear for a moment along with a hooded individual, but the latter two disappeared soon after, leading to a barrage of questions from the two.

Dumbledore had merely sighed and moved to his chair. "Yes, Lily, James. That was indeed the former Alyssa Potter. However, there are some… _disturbing_ things that I have learnt about who took her, what they did and where it was that they took her."

With another sigh, Dumbledore briefly covered what he knew; Alyssa – now Lyra – was living in a dark cave with a strange man she called 'father', she worshipped a strange God that had supposedly been the one to take her from the Dursley's and that she had a very obvious blindfold covering her eyes. The entire explanation was met with silence from the two Potters before the quite was shattered by an angry yell.

"What?!" the angry yell came from James Potter. "You're telling me that _something_ took my daughter, twisted her body into some _creature_, possibly blinded her _and then_ had her live in a dark cave worshipping it as a _God_?" Both Potters were stunned by the summarized story that Dumbledore had told them.

Dumbledore frowned. "I didn't quite mean it that way-"

"But that is exactly how it is, isn't it?" the Lord Potter's fury was palpable, with even Lily seemingly sharing his anger.

Lily, who was a Ravenclaw through and through, was not the type to act brashly. "Now, now, James. Minerva will no doubt convince her to attend for the first semester at the very least. All we need do, once she is here, is convince her to stay permanently – and how hard can that be? We are one of the oldest, most powerful and richest Houses in the Wizarding World, after all."

James pondered her words for a moment. "Yes, of course, you are right." He took a deep breath. "When she comes to Hogwarts, Harry will no doubt become the perfect role model for her. After all, he is her hero-brother."

"Yes, James. We just need to show her that this world is better than the one she came from. Not to mention, once she is back on our side, we'll both be able to blood adopt her, replacing the creature blood that was forced upon her." Lily explained, her mind already running through various ways to get their daughter to cooperate with them.

Dumbledore, however, was really beginning to feel his age. He really hadn't meant it that way. Lyra obviously cared for the man she called her father and did not seem unhappy. Then again… the Potters were her family, she _would_ probably be happier with them. Besides, a sister looking up to him may be just what he needs to teach the Boy-Who-Lived some humility.

Dumbledore smiled at that thought. Perhaps letting the Potters think that the situation was worse than it was would help out Harry's training. It wasn't exactly something he relished the idea of, but it was for the greater good, after all. Not to mention, living in a cave couldn't possibly be better than being a Potter, right? Yes, this would be good for her, and her brother.

**Author's Note:**

I would like to just say now that, while the Potters are not good parents, they are certainly not evil. They are fame-drunk and more than a little big-headed. However, the do _believe_ that what they are planning is in Lyra's best interests.

Dumbledore, as well, is also not evil. He is manipulative, though, but that is canon. All you need do is watch the movies or read the books to show how much he was a manipulative old coot. I personally never liked the old fart, but I'll be writing him as someone who does what he does for the 'greater good' – or, at the very least, what he _thinks_ is the greater good.

Now, I have read what every wanted in regard to the possible accepting of Hircine's Blessing and have gone with a 'yes'. So, yes, she will receive it. I'm not sure where I want to fit it into the story, though. I doubt I'd be able to fit it in before she starts the first semester, but perhaps the Christmas break?

Please let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!


	8. Chapter 8 - Diagon Alley Part Two

**Author's Note:**

Oh boy, my brain is evil. After uploading chapter seven, I sat down and told myself I was going to do an assignment and was not getting up until it was done. Well, I didn't get up, but I did spend the next eight hours on Skyrim… yeah, focusing isn't exactly a strong point of mine. Anyway, after said eight hours, I told myself off and went to start my assignment… but ended up writing this chapter instead. Am I allergic to being productive, I wonder?

Okay, so, I created a new save of Skyrim just for exploring the Forgotten Vale and… well, wow. If you haven't taken the time to explore the Vale properly, do so. I just created a new character and teleported myself right there. I must have spent two whole hours exploring that place, 'for research purposes' you see, and I do not regret it… even if I was supposed to be doing some university assignments. Anyway, I can't believe I simply rushed through this place on my last series of playthroughs… hell, I didn't even know about the Paragon Gateway or Auri-El's Shield until now!

It is not made very clear by me in previous chapters just how far Gelebor was able to clear the Vale, so I'll say this; He cleared Darkfall cave and the area surrounding its entrance, but he did not make it as far as the first outdoors Wayshrine tended to by prelate Athring. For those of you who want to check, that means Lyra does not progress further into the Vale than that – so she doesn't pass the Frostbite Spiders that are not far into the valley. Hence why I say that she is not yet in the Vale proper, let alone anywhere near the Inner Sanctum entrance.

**Upload Eight – Diagon Alley Part Two:**

Okay. Just who can spend an entire hour talking about the history of Owl Mail and its creation? Seriously, what in Oblivion compelled the Professor to study the subject enough to eb that detailed about it? Even the shop owner had been giving the Professor incredulous looks at how long and in-depth the impromptu lecture was. It was easy to see how well-suited the Witch was to her job.

Amusingly enough, however, a bushy haired girl who had wandered in had started listening attentively and taking notes in a pocket book before she'd been literally dragged out by her parents – both of whom had taken it upon themselves to buy her an owl as she focused on the free lesson.

Finally stepping out of the owl shop, a bird cage clutched in the Professor's hands, Lyra breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to look at the Witch how had stepped out after her, she asked a question. "Where to next?"

"Well, I guess the bookshop is out, so probably best to-", she didn't get to finish as Lyra spoke up over her.

"Actually, I am able to read, don't worry about the how and why, though." She spoke quickly, brightening at the idea of going to the bookshop. There was nothing she loved more than stories – even if using her perception at its most detailed was not always enough to read the slight indents made by the quill that wrote them. But, hey, that's what fathers are for, right? She'd had Gelebor read her more than a few books that had turned out to be unreadable for her.

"I see…" the Professor turned to look at her curiously, eyes focusing on the blindfold, before shaking herself out of her thoughts and leading the way through the throngs of people once more. "Bookshop it is then, which can only be; Flourish and Blotts."

'_Again, what is with the naming here'_. Lyra thought inwardly.

For yet another short trip through the bustling street on their way between shops, Lyra had to keep very close to McGonagall for she doubted, even if she had her eyesight, that she'd be able to keep track of the Witch in this crowd.

After just a minute, however, she was led into another shop. This shop, however, had Lyra bouncing on the balls of her feet. She may not have read in English since she was five or six – she wasn't entirely sure as the Dursley's had never told her when her birthday was, nor was it celebrated. Snow Elves also didn't celebrate birthdays, but there were religious holidays that she and Gelebor had managed to celebrate between them. Books, however, you didn't need an occasion to give to someone, according to her father, that is.

So, because of that, she had quite the pile of books in an out-of-the-way spot of the cave – with the ones that had the letter indents being too shallow getting kept by her father who could read them to her, though he had at times gotten a quill and gone over the words with enough pressure to deepen the indents to a readable level for Lyra. But even in that pile of books, there were nowhere near the number that she perceived around her now.

Ignoring a bushy-haired girl that was running back and forth between various isles, Lyra could only gasp as she saw what must have been thousands of different books. McGonagall, seeing her reactions, just smiled and asked, "So, in addition to your course books, is there any other subjects you want books for?"

"Everything."

"Excuse me?" the Witch asked in surprise.

Lyra just smiled back at the Professor. "Everything."

And that was exactly how the two of them decided to split up, the Professor going to collect the course-required books, while Lyra just strolled between the isles grabbing anything that caught her fancy. She'd been told beforehand that she had a trust vault she could use to pay for all of this, so it didn't really occur to her to ration her money – first time spender and all.

Quite the pile of books was beginning to form in Lyra's arms, so high that she had to put down the pile in order to place a new book on top. The pile of books was probably only two books away from reaching her chin as she walked own the isle, approaching the end where she would turn and start up the next isle along.

Just as she rounded the corner, however, she bumped into something that made the exact same 'oof' as she did. Not having had enough time to send out a new magic pulse between rounding the corner and bumping into someone, Lyra only started to perceive what was around said corner by the time she was already falling backwards, her books tumbling to the ground around her. What she saw was basically a mirror image… just bushier.

The girl who she had bumped into was around her height and had been carrying an equally large pile of books, leading to a confusing pile between the two girls where neither could tell which books had originally been in which person's arms.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-", the rambling of the other girl was cut short as she caught sight of Lyra's face. In the fall, the hood of Lyra's initiate robes had come back somewhat – not enough to make the blindfold or her ears visible, but easily enough to see the _very_ pale skin and a few stands of pure-white hair. "Oh, my goodness, you have the palest skin I've ever seen! Are you an albino?"

The rather blunt question was immediately followed by the girl slapping a hand over her mouth as she no doubt realised how rude that had sounded. Lyra, however, just laughed as she pulled the hood back into place.

"Yes, I'm an albino." She agreed, not fully-knowing what it was, but assuming it was a more common answer that _'no, I'm a Snow Elf from another world'_. "Not to worry, I'm not overly shy about it. Just not something I want to put on display, you know?"

"Oh, right, of course." The other girl agreed, before holding out her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Are you starting Hogwarts this year, too?"

"Lyra Snowglade. And maybe, I haven't fully decided on whether I want to."

Hermione looked surprised at this. "Why wouldn't you want to go?"

Lyra merely smiled. "My father is currently teaching me some magic, and I can always self-study." She explained. "I'm just not sure about trusting myself to complete strangers – used to it being just me and my father, you see."

"I know what you mean! I've never been away from my parents for long, and to suddenly go to a boarding school… but, well, this is Hogwarts. From what I read in '_Hogwarts: A History_', there is no way I can't go." The bushy-haired girl exclaimed, eyes glistening with excitement.

'_Yet, I think our situations are a little bit different_', Lyra thought solemnly. _If_ she did go, there would be nobody like her around.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the mess of books was sorted back into two piles and the two girls bid farewell, each heading into different isles to continue their search. Another entire hour had passed before she had to be dragged to the counter by an irate Professor who had grown tired of waiting any longer.

"Next on the to-do-list" started the Professor as the exited the book shop with expanded-space bags, "would be potion ingredients and uniform – but those two can wait until you have decided whether you truly want to go. The potion ingredients typically have a limited shelf-life after all, so they may go to waste."

Lyra merely nodded, absently wondering what the uniform was like at Hogwarts. If it was anything like the bizarre robes that the Witches and Wizards she had seen around were wearing, then she was almost certainly going to dislike it.

"So, is that everything?"

"Not quite." McGonagall replied as she set off again, causing Lyra to have to jog a few steps to catch up. "Now we go to Gringotts for an Inheritance Test to see whether your parents still have that trust fund for you. You can take any of the gold back with you – I'm sure the gold itself has worth even if the coin does not."

After only a minutes of weaving their way through the crowd, the stopped outside of a large white building, with the name Gringotts proudly displayed over the doors.

**Author's Note:**

Now, I'd just like to say that while I have had Hermione and Lyra meet and get along okay, they are not going to form the 'Golden Trio'. Lyra will have her own group of friends. I am doing it this way to break away from all the stories out there that follow the books with only a few small changes. So, don't worry, this won't be just a slight re-write of JKR's work!

Also, I have decided to hold off on uploading the first chapter of my 'Raised by Nocturnal' story for a bit given that the last thing I need is another thing to distract me from my assignments. Not to worry, though, it is still there on my hard drive and I can hop back to it once I have gotten some more of my work out of the way. It also decreases the likelihood that I will end up doing late uploads for this story until my workload goes bye-bye.

I really was going to go for a unique owl, but as I was looking into cold-region owls, Snowy Owl just kept jumping out at me as the best fit. So, yeah, Hedwig is there, but she won't be called Hedwig – Lyra will get to come up with a new name (Please leave suggestions!).

Please let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink! Do I really need to say that last line anymore? I'm pretty sure everyone who will answer it has already done so… but I must be sure! I'd also like any comments you have about my writing style, please – it is something that I get conscious about when uploading each chapter.

PS. At the timee of riting this. It's new year day, but ima be uploading tomorrow, you know?. Happy new year peopes! Bin excitting week ain;t it? Christmas and new yer in same week!

PPS. Today is the day of upload, I wrote that drunken nonsense yesterday after a few ciders, but am leaving it in because its amusing to me. Happy new year! The next Chapter 'Encounter in Gringotts' (title not final) will be up on the sixth... hopefully.


	9. Chapter 9 - Gringotts

**Author's Note:**

Oh, thank Auri-El! My assignments for the third of January have gone in, taking a huge weight off of my shoulders. I do have more work, of course, but I've got it in hand for now. It has been a month since I started uploading this story and I don't think I am doing too badly in terms of upload speed. I know that many of you likely want the chapters to be longer and I will try, but life is a pain in the butt!

Just an interesting fact for you. According to the traffic graph, I've had over two and a half thousand views from America (1st place), over five hundred from my homeland of Britain (2nd place) and over three hunred from Canada (3rd place). Following up in fourth and fifth places are Australia and Germany.

**Upload Nine – Gringotts:**

"_Not quite." McGonagall replied as she set off again, causing Lyra to have to jog a few steps to catch up. "Now we go to Gringotts for an Inheritance Test to see whether your parents still have that trust fund for you. You can take any of the gold back with you – I'm sure the gold itself has worth even if the coin does not."_

_After only a minute of weaving their way through the crowd, the stopped outside of a large white building, with the name Gringotts proudly displayed over the doors._

Stepping inside the bank, Lyra, as per the Professor's instruction, tried not to stare at the Goblins, as it was considered to be a challenge in Goblin culture. While the Goblins understood that Wizards were, for the most part, ignorant to Goblin culture, it was still not a good idea to risk angering the ones who handled your money.

The squat creatures scuttled back and forth between desks while tenders were seemingly alternating between serving their customers and glaring at them. Obviously, there was a bit of tension between the two groups, but Lyra didn't exactly feel comfortable asking the reason when in a room full of both species – she didn't want to risk starting an argument or some such thing.

Quickly weaving through the crowds inside, the duo made their way over to the nearest available tender. A clearing of the Professor's throat was needed to catch the attention of the Goblin, who looked up – more of a glare than a look, really – and cast his eyes over the two before him. His gaze seemed to linger on Lyra for a few long seconds, but eventually turned his gaze back to the waiting Witch.

"I'd like young Lyra here to have an Inheritance Test, if you don't mind." McGonagall asked, the politeness was there but seemingly strained.

The Goblin merely looked back to Lyra for a few seconds before shouting over to a nearby Goblin in a language Lyra could not understand – perhaps she could get McGonagall to take her back to the bookstore for a book on their language and customs? It would be good to respect the ones handling her money… should she chose to attend Hogwarts, that is. She still wasn't sure that she would.

A new Goblin arrived, traded a few words with the Goblin teller that they had been talking to, before gesturing for the two customers to follow him, so they did. The squat creature led them through a door and into a long corridor that had its walls covered in the most detailed and beautiful motifs that Lyra had ever seen, even if the images they depicted were rather violent in nature.

The hallway itself seemed rather too _large_ for the Goblins. For creatures that could be no more than three-feet at most, a twenty-foot high ceiling seemed a tad excessive. After a couple minutes of walking, the Goblin stopped outside a door, knocked twice and then entered, not before telling the two customers to wait outside the door for a moment.

"Lyra," the Professor said, catching Lyra's attention as she focused her perception on the carved motifs, "when we get in there, I want you to pull down your hood and move your hair out of the way of your ears."

Now _that_ caught her attention. Turning to McGonagall with a hidden frown, she put voice to her confusion. "Why do you want me to show them what I am?"

"Listen to me, Lyra. The Inheritance Test that you are about to do will magically check your blood, showing not only your possible Inheritances but will also check your species. Best if the Goblins don't think you are trying to deceive them." She paused. "Deceiving Goblins doesn't tend to end well. More than a few Witches and Wizards have never left these halls after trying such things."

Confused, and now more than a little worried, Lyra nodded in confirmation. Given the tension in the teller hall, she didn't think that the Goblins would run out and tell the Wizarding World about her, so she supposed it was fine – she'd already decided not to anger the people holding her money.

Two minutes passed before the door opened again and the Goblin that had led them there exited and headed back towards the teller hall, stopping just long enough to tell the two of them to enter.

The room that they entered was once again a heavily-decorated room with a high-ceiling, though was smaller than the teller hall and contained only a single desk. A lone Goblin sat behind the desk on an obviously raised up chair, making it so he would be eye-level with any visitors. There were two chairs, much less decorated than the Goblin's own, on their side of the desk. Lyra followed the Professor's lead and sat down in the one next to her.

The Goblin seemed to take them both in, though his eyes latched onto Lyra in curiousity as she pulled down her hood and let her hair fall from where it had covered her ears. See could 'see' its eyes flickering between her pale skin, her white hair and her blindfold, and back again.

"I am Griphook, account manager for several notable Wizarding Families. I was not informed of the young lady's name, but I know you to be one Minerva McGonagall." The Goblin – Griphook – started. "Am I correct in having been told that you wish this young lady to receive an Inheritance Test?"

"You are." The Professor replied. "This is Lyra Snowglade, though she was known as Alyssa Potter when she was Human."

The Goblin's eyes shot wide open at hearing that. "The Potter girl died, and what do you mean 'when she was Human'?"

Before McGonagall could reply, Lyra spoke up. "Yes, you are right. I did die, but I was given form again by My Lord Auri-El; God of Time. As for what I am now, why don't we let the Inheritance Test show you?" she finished with a smile.

A snort was all she got in response from the Goblin before it reached into a draw behind its desk and started shifting through its contents. After only a few seconds, a piece of parchment was placed in front of her.

"This is an Inheritance Parchment." He explained. "Goblin Blood Runes are set up on the back of it, so all you will need to do is let your blood touch the parchment and it will do the rest." A ceremonial dagger joined the parchment on the desk a moment later.

Lyra grabbed the dagger, not being able to resist expertly twirling the weapon in her hand a moment and enjoying the slight look of surprise on the Goblin's face, before slicing in her palm a little. She had expected pain, it was something that didn't really bother her much after her time at the Dursley's, but she was still pleasantly surprised to not feel a thing beyond a slight pressure – the dagger had to be enchanted for it to be painless.

Clenching her cut hand into a fist above the parchment allowed a droplet to form at the bottom of her hand, before it made its way onto the parchment underneath. She quickly withdrew her hand to stop another drop falling on the parchment and was surprised to see that it was already healed. Really fancy dagger, indeed.

Looking back at the parchment, Lyra was surprised to see the droplet splash had been absorbed and crimson sentences were beginning to form as if written by an invisible quill. All three occupants of the room leaned forward to get a better view, though Lyra really had to focus her perception field in order to be able to see the very faint indents made by the writing:

* * *

'_Name: Lyra Snowglade (Formerly Alyssa Potter)._

_Species: Falmer (Formerly Human)._

_Parents: Lord James Potter & Lady Lily Potter (Birth) / Dragon God of Time; Auri-El (Rebirth) / Knight-Paladin Gelebor Snowglade (Preference)._

_Additional Family: Minerva McGonagall (Godmother), Lord Sirius Black (Godfather), Enhanced Snow Wolf Achak (Familiar)._

_Inheritances:_

_\- Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter (__**Revoked on death**__ – Transferred to one Harry J. Potter)._

_\- Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell (__**Revoked on death**__ – Transferred to one Harry J. Potter)._

_\- Ancient and Most Noble House of Black (__**Revoked on death**__ – Not transferred – Confirmation of Heiress reinstatement needed from imprisoned Lord Sirius Black)._

_\- Ancient Falmer House of Snowglade (__**Active**__)._

_Vaults:_

_\- Potter Heiress Trust Vault (__**Revoked**__**on**__**death**__ by Lord Potter)._

_\- Private Trust Vault (__**Active**__ – Sirius Black)_

_Additional Titles:_

_\- Most Favoured of the Dragon God of Time; Auri-El._

_**\- [UNKNOWN] **__of the Dragon God of Time; Auri-El._

_**\- [UNKNOWN]**__ of the Daedric Prince Hircine._

_\- Initiate of the Chantry of Auri-El._

_\- Candidate for the Chantry Paladin Order._

_**-[UNKNOWN].**_

_Notable Magics:_

_\- Nirnian Magic (Unknown extent of knowledge)._

_**\- [UNKNOWN].**_

_\- Host of a Horcrux._

* * *

"Well…" the Deputy Headmistress said, breaking the silence, after several long minutes. "that is interesting."

Lyra merely smiled at the Professors loss of words. It did surprise her to read that Auri-El was listed as a parent to her, but the surprise gave way to humility at the sheer honour of it. She had a single trust vault left out of the two, with pretty much everything else – heirships and vaults alike – being taken away upon her death.

"A God…" the Goblin muttered, just barely audible but both customers turned to him. "the daughter of an actual God…". Lyra almost felt sorry for the Goblin, seeing how stunned the parchment had made him. True, it would be surprising to anyone to come face-to-face with a 'daughter' of a God, but he certainly seemed… well, frozen.

"What is this 'Daedric Prince' that is mentioned?" McGonagall enquired upon finding her words.

Lyra smiled, knowing that this would surprise them further. "The Daedric Prince are the Gods that refused to participate in the creation of the Mortal plain and instead created their own personal realms in the depths of Oblivion."

Stunned silence followed her amused explanation. "So," the Goblin tried after a moment. "… you are favoured by two Gods, with one being magically viewed as a father?"

"Indeed."

"And this 'Nirnian Magic' is?"

Lyra smiled again, making the Goblin blanch as he quickly realised that he wasn't going to like this answer either. "The completely separate world that I have been living on for the past five years." This time Lyra spoke up again before any more questions could be sent at her in order to ask one of her own. "What is this 'Horcrux' that is mentioned in the 'Notable Magics' section?"

"I have never heard of such a thing." The Professor muttered.

"Neither have I." came the input from the Goblin, who had seemingly regained himself somewhat. "I'll have a few Goblins look into it for when you next come in."

Lyra didn't want to mention that she had yet to decide whether she would even return to this world. Instead, she chose to pose another question. "How much is in the still active trust vault?"

The Goblin had to consult a separate parchment that seemed to just _ooze_ magic in order to get an answer for her. "There seems to be around… ah, here it is, one-thousand and one-hundred Galleons are located within the vault, with a hundred being added upon each birthday."

"Can I withdraw it all?" she asked. "The coins may not be a currency on Nirn, but the gold itself will still be accepted."

"There is no withdrawal limit, no. However, one-thousand and one-hundred Galleons is a rather significant amount of gold. Might I suggest purchasing a Gringotts money pouch with an expansion charm?"

Lyra nodded. "Yes, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." The Goblin replied. "Is there anything else you need?"

Maybe it was her imagination, but she could swear that the Goblin was suddenly being much more polite. Did the whole _daughter of a God_ thing affect him that much? Sure, on Nirn it would probably have people bowing down to her, but as far as she knew, Auri-El wasn't worshiped on Earth… then again, she was kept in a cupboard most of her time here, so she may be wrong. Though it was unlikely that she was, especially since the two with her had not heard of the Daedric Princes before.

"That is everything, thank you."

Following that discussion, they had quickly bid farewell to the Goblin and exited Gringotts. The closer to the exit of Gringotts that they had gotten, the sadder the Witch beside Lyra had seemed to get.

"This is it." She said as they stepped outside. "Everything short of the Hogwarts robes, potion ingredients and a trunk."

"Thank you, Professor." Lyra told her, she was indeed thankful for getting to see that Earth was bigger than she had seen from the Dursley's. She had much to think on.

"Please Just consider the offer, will you, Lyra?"

"I will."

A parting hug was given before the Professor handed her all the shrunken items with the knowledge that the time-limit on the shrinking charms was coming soon, then she called out for the bird that had brought them to the alley. Said bird quickly appeared in a burst of flame, before landing on Lyra's shoulder and exploding into flame once more – this time with said flames swirling around her as well as the strange bird.

**Gringotts – Ten Minutes After Lyra's Departure:**

"A GOD!" King Ragnuk of the Goblin Nation bellowed in surprise. "You are telling me that one of our clients – a client thought long dead – is the daughter of a _God_?!"

"Yes, my King." Came the reply from Griphook. "The dead Potter girl was reincarnated, it seems. From what she has told me, she is not only the daughter of one, but the 'Most Favoured' of another _and_ currently resides in another world."

"Another world." Ragnuk whispered in disbelief. "Show me our copy of her Inheritance Test!"

King Ragnuk of every Goblin in Great Britain was stunned by what he read. He had thought that Dumbledore's account had been the most important to them, clearly that was no longer true. The daughter of a _God_ was now one of their clients, making her business with Gringotts the most important.

"Well, Griphook. A daughter of a God and a whole new world. If handled right, she could be a massive boon for our nation – we could gain the favour of Gods or trade with a new world!" she nodded to himself. "Yes, her business with us is to be made to priority. No waiting in queues, extra protections on her vaults and whatever else is needed!"

"Yes, my King."

**Author's Note:**

Yes, I am going with an owl. It was suggested that I use a baby Snow Dragon and, as cool as that sounds, owning a dragon is illegal in Wizarding Britain and would only catch the eyes of the Daedra when in Mundus. So, owl it is. Yes, it is Hedwig, but not she will not be called that. I still have not chosen a name, so you can all still leave reviews with name suggestions for a Snowy Owl friend!

Finally, yes, the Goblins have taken an interest in her. I am thinking that they might make an interesting ally for Lyra in case things heat up, but I'm curious on your thoughts.

Please let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink! (The last one is most important, of course)


	10. Chapter 10 - Led Astray

**Author's Note:**

Strangely, I have noticed that I pump out the most words for these stories when I am tired and want to go to bed. Good incentive, I guess. Anyway, for those of you who got to my last chapter early, you may have noticed as slight error that I had in the ending Author Note. This error was a slight spoiler since I had intended to write Lyra's return during the last chapter… but, yeah, sorry about that. Said event that was possibly spoiled takes place in this chapter, so I guess it wasn't _too_ bad. All the same, my apologies.

Also, I am glad to hear that the 'Inheritance Test' was well-received. The way I see it, since the majority of Inheritance Tests that I have read have all gone incredibly overboard, showing the MC to have a ridiculous number of inheritances, I wasn't sure that this would be well accepted. I did try to make the test show as much information as I can without giving spoilers nor making her a 'Mary Sue' as some might say (not that I don't enjoy the occasional Sue story, they can be a nice change of pace). Yes, pretty much all her inheritances and assets from them were revoked and are no longer available to her – she won't exactly have everything handed to her on a silver platter like you see in some fictions, since I much prefer the character-building shown by the acquisition of such things… though whether I can pull that off remains to be seen.

Anyway, here is the tenth upload. Wow, tenth chapter already… time really does fly when you're enjoying your Hot Chocolates – oh, wait, that's not how that expression goes.

* * *

**Upload Ten – Led Astray:**

For the third time that day, a mass of swirling flames erupted into existence inside Darkfall Cave, startling its protectors. Gelebor, alongside Achak and the entire pack of Vale Snow Wolves immediately took up ready positions. While Gelebor was fully expecting it to be Lyra returning, he wasn't about to lower his guard against a possible intrusion.

The Knight-Paladin had been glad for the company during Lyra's absence. The two Snow Elves had barely ever been apart for the past half a decade. Those few years may not seem like much compared to his multi-thousand-year lifespan but, upon finding Lyra, his world had almost immediately begun to revolve around her. If something happened to her… well, he didn't know what he would do. As the swirling mass began to fade, leaving Lyra's unhurt form standing there, Gelebor finally felt his anxiety slide away for the first time since she'd left.

Lyra smiled at him and had begun to take the first few steps towards him, as he did the same, but the reunion got postponed almost immediately as a massive wall of fur pounced on Lyra. It seemed that Achak had missed Lyra nearly as much as he had, leaving the Knight-Paladin laughing aloud as the downed Lyra became the victim of an onslaught of face licking.

"Bweh! Icky! Achak, stop! Blech!" Lyra's shouting filled the cave that had been too quiet since her departure, though her words, what few she managed to get out, were completely ignored by a certain happy wolf.

While Lyra was being 'attacked' by her Wolf, Gelebor's attention turned momentarily to what was dropped when she had been pounced on. Sitting on its side, having fallen from Lyra's hands, was a smallish carry-cage containing a bird Gelebor had not seen before. It was an owl of some sort, with feathers that were the purest white, marred only by a scattering of black dots across them. Dispersed by the fall were dozens absolutely tiny books that had seemingly fallen from Lyra's pockets. But they truly were _tiny_, how was she meant to read them?

After a couple of minutes, Lyra eventually managed to push the giant pup-at-heart off of her and stumble to her feet, though Achak did not move more than a metre from her side. That was, after all, the longest time he had ever been away from her side since they met in the Vale. With the large wolf out of the way, Lyra and her father could finally embrace one another in a hug.

"Welcome home, Lyra." Gelebor spoke softly in her ear as they hugged. The hug lasted a full minute before Gelebor finally broke it. "So, I see you brought back a new friend, as well as a lot of very tiny books."

His daughter laughed. "The books have a shrinking spell on them, they return to full size soon." She explained. "As for the bird, well, the mages of Earth use them to deliver letters. Apparently, an owl is simply a 'must have' for everyone in the magic society there. This is apparently a Snowy Owl called Hedwig, though I was informed I can change her name – which I intend to do."

The Knight-Paladin smiled as his daughter began to ramble random facts about owls, Earth magic and what she saw on her trip. It sounded like she had fun with the Professor, which also kind of worried him somewhat. He didn't think he'd be able to tolerate her being out of his sight for a full school semester; he'd pull his hair out with worry!

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" he asked, though only after a ten-minute ramble about her shopping trip. They'd moved to the fire and now sat nursing cups of Gleamblossom Tea, warming themselves up and enjoying the feeling of warm fur from the many wolves that were lazing around the cave. Despite Lyra having returned, the pack had yet to move on, with Gelebor saying that they had likely missed her as well.

Lyra hummed as she thought about the question. "I'll probably try to squeeze in a quick hunt to Hircine, if that is all right with you, father?"

Her father smiled, "Not at all. Today has likely been a very strange day, so a hunt would be the perfect time to unwind." He said, before quickly adding, "and try out your new saddle, of course."

Lyra hummed in acknowledgement, taking a sip of her tea, before the words sank in causing her to start spluttering out her drink. "It's done?" she asked after a moment of regaining her composure.

Rather than answer, Gelebor just stood up with a smile and made his way behind the Wayshrine that was hiding the saddle. Returning a moment later with a simply gorgeous piece of leatherwork, he placed it right in front of Lyra who immediately, with a massive grin on her face, lowered her perception range to the smallest and most detailed level that she possibly could, happily drinking in the details he had worked into the saddle.

"Leatherworking was something I was actually good at in my youth." Her father explained. "It took me a few attempts to get back into it, but I got there in the end. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful…" she breathed, studying the intricate pattern work that had been stitched, engraved and burned into the leather.

She could not see the colours of it, but she could most certainly appreciate the beauty of its motifs. Lyra could also make out what appeared to be several embedded gems at some points of the design, though without sight, she couldn't tell exactly what they were. Having already had the saddle moulded to his form, Achak trotted over upon recognising it – tail wagging as he understood its purpose.

"You'll need to break it in; use it until the leather softens and moulds to you as well." He smiled. "And is there a better way to break it in than by going on your first wolf-back hunt?"

Lyra's grinning face turned to her father's, the infectious grin spreading to him as well.

* * *

A loud whoop echoed from the cave mere a second before a white flash shot from its mouth. Dashing out of the gloom, a large wolf with pure-white fur sprinted, tongue lolling happily as it ran. Perhaps most eye-catching about this wolf, however, was the saddle upon its back. A saddle that was not vacant and it was from the occupant of this saddle that the whoop had come from.

Lyra had not stopped grinning from the moment the saddle had been handed to her – in fact, her face was actually beginning to ache from it all. With the delightfully chill wind whipping past her as Achak ran, Lyra could not help but let out yet another whoop – this was certainly even more fun that she'd expected it to be. She knew that Achak could run for days and she would not get bored of this amazing and immensely freeing feeling.

With her perception range now stretched out as far as it could go – a good thirty-metres in acceptably good detail – she only felt her massive grin get larger as over a dozen wolves began to come up alongside them, each barking and yipping happily. Even the Alpha seemed to be reliving his pup days as he ran with them.

Feeling Achak's powerful muscles shift, even before he actually made the turn, Lyra leaned with him to the side as she pushed herself down – thus lowering the air-resistance. It was clear why Achak had turned when the wolves around her all let out a howl, but not just any howl; a Hunting Howl.

Reaching back and undoing a clasp on the rear part of the saddle, she withdrew her hunting bow from the specially made slot for it, while also grabbing an arrow from yet another specially-made slot. There was no way in Oblivion that she was going to just sit on Achak and do nothing for this hunt. No, she was going to take the first shot she could get. Had the rest of the pack not showed up, she may have dedicated it to Hircine, but when the wolves let out that Hunting Howl, it was a clear sign that the prey would be theirs.

A momentary flash of movement at the edge of her perception range showed the rear-end of a Vale Deer sprinting as far from the thrilled pack as it could. Unfortunately for said deer, however, this pack was now committed to the hunt and would not stop for anything short of a kill.

In fact, so caught up on catching momentary glances of their – and _her_ – prey, was she, that she didn't notice that the rest of the wolves had changed from the usual hunting formation and into something else. As it was, Achak and Lyra were not leading the hunt, with even the old Alpha remaining behind them, watching the pair closely on their first duo-hunt.

"Come on boy." Lyra whispered to Achak as she leaned forward. "We cannot let our first joint-hunt end in failure now."

Giving a quick bark in agreement, the wolf under her forced out even more speed, allowing the duo to get slightly closer to the deer with each passing second. So, as the deer got to about the twenty-five-metre mark, Lyra drew the bowstring back, even as she kept leaning forward somewhat to reduce drag. With her aim perfect, Lyra only had to wait for Achak to close the distance some more before she took the shot.

Twenty-two metres.

Twenty metres.

Eighteen metres.

'_Now!'_ Lyra shouted inwardly as she fired forth the arrow. Following its trajectory with her perception field, she watched with a grin as it stayed true – the frequent hunts for Hircine had really helped her aim. With the deer having been facing in the opposite direction, and a headshot being rather unlikely, she'd aimed for a much easier target and let out a whoop as she saw the arrow embed itself there.

With an arrow having pierced its rear hip, the Vale Deer lost its footing and its momentum made it topple forward. Achak slowed slightly as they neared. The deer was still alive, but Lyra did not ready another arrow – she'd toppled the deer, now it was Achak's turn. With a single, quick snap of his powerful jaws, Lyra's hunting companion sealed the deer's fate by severing its windpipe.

* * *

**Ten Minutes Later:**

Lyra let out a content sigh as she rested against Achak's warm side. As the ones who'd done the deed, Achak and Lyra had had first pick of what to eat – normally something that was the Alpha's privilege only. Naturally, Achak had gone for the liver – his favourite – while she had skinned the deer with practiced ease and packed the fresh hide into one of the many storage pockets in the saddle. She'd leave the treating of the hide for once she got back to the cave, as such a task was rather time consuming.

The rest of the pack had only been a few seconds behind the duo but had quickly enjoyed the fruits of the hunt that were left over after Lyra and Achak's first pickings. The many large wolves now all lazed around them as they basked in the last rays of the sun as it started to dip behind the unscalable mountains that hid the Vale from the rest of Tamriel.

While Lyra could not see the sun, she could certainly feel the air growing colder as it began to disappear. While Snow Elves could enjoy cold temperatures more than most other Mer, that didn't mean that the idea of spending the night outside in the Vale was something that appealed to her.

"I hope your dinner has gone down, Achak." She called to him as she stood up and stepped away from his side. "I can feel the night-chill started, so we'd best head back. Father will likely throw a fit _again_ if we take too long."

The large wolf, though still smaller than most of the pack, grumbled a bit as he forced himself to his feet. The rest of the pack followed suit and stood around waiting while Lyra climbed back into the saddle and wrapped her robes around herself even tighter as a blast of freezing wind caught her by surprise.

Lyra watched as Achak turned back in the direction of the cave – they'd strayed quite far, with what her father called the 'Frostbite Passage', named after the spiders infesting it, being not too far away from where they were now.

Achak had just started up a trot that would prelude his breakout into a full run, when without warning, he stopped. Coming to a slight standstill, Achak turned his eyes skyward and just stood there, the wolves alongside them doing the same.

Confused by this action, Lyra tried to catch Achak's attention. "Achak? Achak, are you all right?" no response. "Achak, what's wrong?"

After a full minute of pleading went unheard, Achak finally shook himself out of the daze he'd been in. Everything was not alright, however, as he began running in the complete opposite direction from the cave entrance and straight towards the Frostbite Passage.

"Achak!" Lyra had to shout as he picked up speed. "Where are you going?! We need to go back now! We aren't allowed to go near the passage!"

It was no use, however, as her friend was not listening and was picking up even more speed. So, with nothing else she could do, Lyra had to just grip on tight to the saddle as she grit her teeth – both in frustration, and to stop them chattering from the cold.

As she hung on, she could only watch her perception field as they got closer and closer to the location of the passage, with Lyra's dread growing the entire time. She'd heard her father's descriptions of the giant spiders and, quite frankly, she'd die happy if she never saw one of the foul beasts in her entire life. Spiders were just creepy – why in Oblivion did they need eight eyes and legs, anyway? Clearly that number is just excessive!

The cliffs became apparent in her range of 'sight' as Achak drew closer to them, with the gap that apparently contained the spiders being directly ahead of them. Already, she could make out webbing covering some of the nearby rockfaces.

"Dammit Achak, please turn around!" she tried again, but still there was no response.

They entered the passage a few seconds later, with stray strands of webbing quickly coming to cling to them both as her friend kept on barrelling forward. The sounds of hissing and tumbling pebbles nearly gave her a heart attack as she noticed moving shapes above them. Yet, still, her normally-faithful friend kept going.

Thankfully, the passage was not too long, only about thirty metres from start to finish, but it felt like an eternity, leading Lyra to let out a massive sigh of relief as they shot out of the other side. She knew that she was not 'out of the woods' yet, so to speak, since Achak was still not answering her and kept running deep into the Vale – with them now being in the Vale proper.

She was lost. She was completely and hopelessly lost. She'd never even approached the Frostbite Passage, let alone gone through it, so she knew that if anything went wrong – more wrong than it already was – she'd never find her way back. On top of that, her father's stories had all said that the Vale Proper was now full of Vale Sabre Cats, Frost Trolls and Betrayed. So, yeah, she was pretty close to panicking as she went on the less-than-willing ride into the Vale proper.

Several minutes passed as Achak kept running, up and down hills, jumping over frozen streams and climbing long-disused paths. They were now heading across a large frozen lake that was so big that Lyra could not see the edges of it in her perception field.

Wait, there was something! A rocky protrusion was straight ahead of them, with what looked to be steps carved into it. The closer they got, the more Lyra began to feel something strange. There was a drumming in her head, as if some sort of power was slamming against her. She _really_ didn't want to get closer to the source of the drumming, but that was exactly where she was seemingly being taken.

They'd reached the bottom of the steps when Lyra could now make out what sat at the top of them. The steps went straight up and… into a wall? But there was something strange on the wall that was emanating strong magic, strong enough that, the closer they got to it, the more Lyra's 'vision' was distorted.

It was once they'd reached halfway up the steps that the drumming was becoming unbearable and her perception field was now completely useless due to the _thing_ on the wall. She could only grit her teeth and grip at her head as Achak slowed to a stop right in front of the wall.

And then, all of a sudden, it was as if a dam had broken and _something_ began to flood into her. Lyra screamed as raw energy seemed to flow over her nerves and swirl around her body. She didn't understand what was happening; Achak seemed possessed, she was now blind and lost, and there was some sort of power flooding through her system, making her feel as if she were aflame.

With one last desperate scream, Lyra toppled from her saddle and blacked out.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ah, thank Auri-El! I finally finished it!

By the way, anyone else _really_ want to get their own Achak? I want my own super-cuddly, super-smart and super-big canine! I've never had a dog, though I always wanted one growing up. People are too complicated for me to figure out, but a dog doesn't judge. As soon as I am done with Uni and have a stable income, I'm getting myself a dog! Maybe a Husky or German Shepard… or a Border Collie, those are fluffy and cuddly, too. Hmm, decisions…

Okay, cutting that rambling short; please let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!

PS. I've had a few annoyed reviews about people not liking Lyra's brother being called Harry. I didn't really think it mattered that much, but the annoyed reviews seem to indicate otherwise. So, when I get some free time, I will go back and change it. As for right now, I need to make a start on Upload Eleven in order to break the start-of-chapter block before I head to bed. It's nearly midnight – but still Friday, so I'm not late in my upload!


	11. Chapter 11 - Thu'um

**Author's Note:**

Argh! This chapter almost didn't happen again! Got a tad sick over the weekend and still am not exactly able to drag myself out of bed much. Anyway, I forced my sleepy and aching backside to sit in front of the computer until this was done. It may be an hour or so after the deadline when I upload this, but its not too far off schedule, so this won't change the next due date of the eighteenth. I won't go into details about my icky-feeling but let's just say that feeling like a corpse tends to make someone less productive.

Once again, sorry about the late upload, I hope you enjoy it. This is basically just a small filler upload since I lacked the ability to write any more in time, but I'll try and make the next upload longer – no shorter than three or four thousand words – to make up for my stupid illness. It's clearing up somewhat, so I'll try and get started on it right away.

* * *

**Upload Ten – Thu'um:**

Lyra groaned as she drew closer to consciousness. Everything ached, she had a pounding migraine and it felt as though something heavy was on top of her. Something heavy and… wait, fluffy? Forcing the last of her way to consciousness, she started up her perception field once more, only to find it immediately be filled up by the furry side of a certain wolf.

With as much strength as her aching body to must, she grunted as she pulled herself out from under the large wolf laying over her. Lyra's struggles to do so quickly caused the giant canine to awaken from its own sleep – albeit one that he had entered voluntarily, unlike Lyra.

"Achak." Lyra growled, much more than just a little annoyed about the events before her bout of unconsciousness. "Get off of me, now." Her voice was sterner than she knew it could be, possibly enough to impress Professor McGonagall. It was this tone of voice that had Achak whimper slightly before getting up, moving a couple of metres away where he waited for Lyra to get up – his head was lowered, and his tail hung loosely, clearly showing his guilty feelings.

Ignoring the saddened wolf for the moment, Lyra struggled to push her aching body off of the ground and into a kneeling position. From that position she could see that she was still by the wall that she vaguely remembered from the previous night. Now, however, there was no drumming in her mind, and she sensed no power coming from the wall at all. Her perception was still rather fuzzy, but she put that down to exhaustion.

One of the three things she did notice about the wall, however, was that there was a series of strange claw marks slashed into the wall in about the same space that she thought she'd sensed the strange magic emanating from. The second and third things she noticed quickly was the presence of a skeleton and chest lying nearby.

Seemingly gaining a little energy from her curiosity, Lyra crawled over to the unlocked chest and peered inside – though she took care to not disturb the skeleton in any way. Almost immediately, however, she frowned at its contents; a pile of gold coins, several stones that she assumed were gems, a single throwing knife and several metal ingots. Exactly why someone would be carrying such a strange selection of items in a chest was beyond her.

A quick prayer for the skeleton later, Lyra called over the guilty-looking wolf and moved the contents of the chest into the saddle bag – they may just serve as an appropriate apology to her father for being late… though she doubted that.

Aside from calling him over, Lyra had been staunchly ignoring Achak's occasional whimper, but she now had to break that silence if she wanted to get home. "Achak. Take us back to the gave now; I don't know where we are, and I don't like it." She told him as she struggled onto her aching legs. "You got us into this mess, you can get us out.

Several whimpers again followed, but Achak did as commanded after allowing Lyra to drag herself into the saddle. She had a feeling that the ride back was going to be almost as unpleasant as the first trip – for she doubted the Frostbite Spiders had forgotten their little escapade through their territory in the Frostbite Passage.

* * *

**Twenty Minutes Later:**

Several minutes prior, Lyra had dismounted from Achak as they started walking through the cave towards the Wayshrine. She'd done this both because she didn't want to hit her head on some outcrops like she had nearly done on their exit, but also because she needed to try and think of an excuse for why exactly she took so long and also what had happened. Well, not that she was even sure what happened in the first place.

Lyra stepped through the Wayshrine and back into the cave, followed shortly by a still-sad wolf, to come face-to-face with her father. From the crossed arms, stern frown and tapping foot, she knew that she was in for a lecture.

"Father, I can explain-", she started, only to be almost immediately interrupted.

"I certainly hope you can." Her father spoke as he took in her soaking wet and web-covered robes. "Eleven hours. A hunt does not take _eleven hours_, Lyra. What in Oblivion were you doing?"

Lyra winced. "I… don't exactly know how to explain it, but it wasn't my fault…"

"Oh, and whose fault was it?"

Lyra had adopted the same drooped head-position as Achak as her father looked disapprovingly at her. "I… well…" she took a breath. "We'd just done a hunt, and I had gotten back on Achak to come back, when he started acting strange."

Her father stopped tapping his foot as he turned his penetrating stare to the wolf. "Strange how?"

Somewhat glad that he was no longer staring at her, she quickly responded. "Achak just froze and stared up at the sky, father. All the wolves did." That had the Knight-Paladin frowning. "After that, Achak just ran off, passing through the Frostbite Passage and running deep into the Vale proper. I had no clue where we were, and he took me to this wall and…" she trailed off.

"A wall? Explain." It wasn't a request, right now her father was in 'Paladin Mode', and thus Lyra had to respond as an Initiate rather than a daughter.

"Yes, a wall. It had strange claw-like markings in it and was emanating a _lot_ of magic. The power then seemed to flow into me and… well, I passed out, waking to find Achak laying over me. I came back as soon as I could, I promise." She was fidgeting slightly as she spoke under his gaze.

"You are unharmed?" a nod. "Could you draw the markings you saw?" another nod. "Do so, now. I have a feeling you were meant to go there – which means that the eight-hours of sword training I had planned as punishment likely won't happen."

Lyra immediately let out a very relieved sigh at hearing she wasn't getting that punishment. Sword training was exhausting in short periods – eight hours, plus the exhaustion she was already feeling, would likely cause her to sleep for a week! A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but that did not change how grateful she was that she didn't have to do it.

"However." Her father stated upon hearing her sigh. "Do not think that you will get out of this unpunished. If what you draw turns out to be nonsense, you can full expect it to be quite severe." He turned to look at her wolf companion. "You, too." The wolf's head sank lower.

* * *

Two minutes later saw Lyra scribbling away in her pocket journal, attempting to replicate the claw-like patterns that she had seen in the wall. Her father watched over her shoulder with an ever-growing sense of unease at what he saw.

"GAAN." He said simply after a moment.

"What?

"GAAN. It's Dovahzul." Her father suddenly seemed to age before her eyes as he moved to slump next to her. "The only reason I recognise it is because our empire existed alongside the Dragons. 'GAAN' is a Shout, or Thu'um, used by Dovah and Dovahkiin alike. I've seen it used only once before."

Lyra blank eyes widened under her blindfold as her surprise registered. She did not know what a Thu'um was, but she'd most certainly heard of Dovahzul – the language of the Dovah; Dragons. Since the Dragons were the sons of her Lord Auri-El, she felt both honoured and confused as to how she had ended up with the word seemingly burned into her brain.

"Do you know what it means?" she asked pensively.

Her father nodded. "Sort of. I do not know the exact translation, but it is the first Word of Power in the 'Drain Vitality' Shout." He paused. "Have you tried Shouting it?"

"But father, I don't know _how_ to Shout."

"Just try yelling it, or something. If you truly absorbed the magic of the Thu'um from a Word Wall, you should be able to use it."

Lyra sighed, but did as she was told. Turning away from her father and facing into the cave, she took a deep breath and yelled out the word her father had spoken – though she highly doubted anything would happen.

"_**GAAN!"**_

A wave of magic shot forth from Lyra as she shouted, simultaneously drawing a gasp from her father. "Dovahkiin," he muttered. "I know you were re-forged by Auri-El, but… _Dovahkiin_?"

"Do you know any other of these 'Shouts'?" Lyra sked, genuinely curious to learn more of this strange magic – even more so know that she knew it was a magic gifted to Dovah and Dovahkiin by Auri-El himself. It was as if she had a new blessing from Auri-El… actually, that was exactly what it was.

Her father shook his head slowly, however. "I know a few words at most, but even if I shared those words with you, it would be meaningless." He explained. "The magic of the Thu'um takes years to master without the use of a catalyst. So, unless you happen to know where to find more Word Walls or know of any Dovah you can directly take the knowledge from, the few Words that I do know will be as useless to you as they are to me."

"Do you… do you think that it was Auri-El that had Achak take me there?" she asked cautiously, taking in the formerly-sulking from of the sleeping wolf nearby.

A sigh came from him before he answered. "Most likely, Lyra."

"I'll have to apologise to Achak in the morning." She muttered to herself.

"It is morning."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

For the user who asked over my 'Raised by Nocturnal' story that I teased in Author Notes of previous uploads, I've had to put the idea of uploading that story on hold until I can pick up enough speed to get several chapters ahead for this one – something that is harder work than I thought it would be. It's still there on my hard drive so I can upload it when I have the time to spread my focus back to two stories instead of one, but for now it is on hold. My apologies if you were looking forward to it.

Yes, the random things found in the chest was totally a jab at how random the levelled-loot seems to be in Skyrim loot chests. It can be quite bizarre at just what you find in said chests in the most isolated places.

Also, quick question; what is your favourite Daedric Race? Personally, I like the Aureal and Mazken (Golden Saints and Dark Seducers) from the Oblivion Expansion for ES:3. I learnt something surprising about the Aureal today, too; did you know that during the Interregnum, an Aureal (an immortal race notorious for hating Mortals) took in and raised a Mortal child as her own, even going so far as training that Mortal as if they were an Aureal? Surprising, huh?

Finally, before I leave my customary response, I'd once again like to apologise for the late and short upload. I was sick, but will make it up to you all with a longer upload on the next due date – the eighteenth, if memory serves.

Now then, let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!

PS. Update as of 20:13 18/01/2020 - I am meant to upload the next chapter today, but it will be a tad late as I am too exhausted to finish. It **will** be up tomorrow before lunch, that much I promise, but I feel the need to apologise for it being a half-day late. So, yeah, sorry!


	12. Chapter 12: Divine Intervention Again

**Author's Note:**

Okay… I'm late, again... by an entire day. Sorry! I have no excuse beyond the fact that I hit a wall and was struggling to force words out. Anyhoo, next upload is still due on the twenty-second… I wonder if I can get that one done _before_ the day it is due…

* * *

**Upload Twelve – Divine Intervention… Again:**

Lyra was exhausted. She knew that, if she pestered him enough, he'd allow her to take a day off from her duties – especially when considering what had happened throughout the previous night – but she also knew that there were things they needed to talk about. The sooner they ripped the proverbial leech off, the better.

That being said; she'd been trying to work up the courage to speak to her father about it for the past half a day. It was the middle of the afternoon now, and she knew that if she didn't get it out soon, she'd probably end up putting it off until tomorrow, which wouldn't help matters. She'd apologised to Achak for getting angry at him, that was the easy one, but just how was she supposed to bring this up with her father?

So, that was why Lyra, swaying tiredly on her feet, was standing next to her father as they cleaned the ancient stone of the Wayshrine. "Father." She caught his attention. "We've been avoiding the topic of Hogwarts since I came back."

Her father sighed. "I know, Lyra." He stopped cleaning the stone as he turned to face her, prompting Lyra to do the same. "You want to go, don't you?"

Lyra frowned, "Yes… no. I don't know." It was her turn to sigh. "A large part of me does want to go, but I know that my birth family are a big thing in the Wizarding World thanks to some of the books I bought. How do I know that they won't try anything, especially when I would be reliant on the Headmaster's bird for travel back and forth? The Headmaster could withhold travel privileges and I wouldn't be able to get back."

"It is entirely possible." Her father replied. "That old man did seem like the kind who liked to be in control of things. Watching the veins try and pop out of his skin in annoyance every time he was interrupted was quite amusing. Probably someone who is used to being listened to getting their way."

"Exactly! I _do_ want to study at Hogwarts, but I _do not_ want to live on that Oblivion-damned world!" Lyra shouted, exasperated.

"Watch your tongue." The older Snow Elf chided on reflex in a fatherly tone before replying to her outburst. "I do not have the answer to this problem, Lyra. All I can say is take your time, there is no need to rush this decision – and remember; Auri-El is not the kind of God that abandons his followers, so keep faith."

Lyra nodded. "Yes, father." A few seconds passed before she let out a relieved sigh. "I'm going to turn in early. I'd like to do a wolf-back hunt with Achak before my duties tomorrow."

"Good night, Lyra."

"Night, father."

* * *

Lyra's eyes snapped open after what felt like a mere few seconds of sleep, only to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a great hall; large windows were high up on the walls and great pillars lined the main walkway through the centre of the hall. The room was definitely Snow Elf in design, but she had never been to it. Perhaps it was a hall within the Inner Sanctum?

As she turned her attention to the end of the hall, opposite from where a pair of large doors gave entrance to the room, she eyed a large statue. It was a statue that Lyra immediately recognised as her father had a smaller version of it; a statue of Auri-El.

"_Yes, you are dreaming, my child."_ An ethereal voice came from the statue. "_It is the easiest way for a Divine to speak to a Mortal."_

Upon hearing this, Lyra dropped to a knee and bowed before the statue. Auri-El was a God – a God that she owed everything to – and it was only proper to kneel before a God. Even if this was a dream, as the voice of her Lord said, it did not excuse her from proper decorum and manners. "My Lord." She spoke softly, though reverently.

"Tell me something," the voice said after a moment of silence. "do you think I would abandon you, my dear child?"

Lyra could not help but frown in confusion, even as she kept her head bowed. "I do not understand your meaning, my Lord."

Her Lord elaborated; "You are worried that you will not be able to return to Nirn, should this _Dumbledore_ choose to keep you in your birth-world, yes?". The question did indeed cover her worries in a single sentence.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then you think I would abandon you? That I would allow you to be kept from your oath to me, and from the family you found in my Knight-Paladin?" came the next question, referring back to first question he asked her. Lyra noticed the question for what it was and shifted nervously. If she said that she did think that, she'd be indirectly saying she did not trust in her Lord.

"N-No, my Lord." She stammered. "I trust in your plans for me."

"Then you are correct; I will not." The voice announced sternly. "You are one of my most devout, even among all the Mortals of Nirn. These outsiders will not keep you, for you shall awaken come morning to find yourself with a blessing – a blessing that will mitigate their main power over you."

Lyra could not help but feel pride and honoured by her Lord calling her one of his most devout. She would do anything he asked and having that recognised was definitely a good feeling. As for receiving a blessing from her Lord, that was certainly something to cherish. Direct gifts from the Gods were not common, once again causing Lyra's chest to swell in pride. However, the entire conversation hinted at something.

"My Lord… is it your wish that I go?" she asked cautiously. It made sense, right? Why else would the subject of her worship reach out to her like this and question her so? Was this a part of his plan? Was she disappointing him by questioning that plan? _That_ was something she could not tolerate; the idea of disappointing Auri-El was something that terrified her.

While she was unsure of just _how_ she knew, Lyra just had the feeling that Auri-El smiled at that question. "No, my child." He responded. "It is _your_ wish that you go."

True; she may have wanted to go to Hogwarts – if for no other reason than to explore the 'Wizarding World' – but that didn't mean that she couldn't go on happily living her life as normal if she didn't. That being said, if Auri-El gave her a blessing that negated any attempt to hold her there… did she really have a reason, besides not wanting to meet the Potters, not to go? She'd miss her father, it was true, but it wasn't like she'd be gone for too long.

Bowing her head further, Lyra kept her voice calm. "I humbly accept your blessing, my Lord, and I shall reconsider my concerns." That was as careful a way to say _'I'll think about it'_ as she could come up with on the spot. Thankfully, she wasn't questioned on her choice of words and her vision once again went black.

* * *

Lyra awoke the next morning to the smell of Gleamblossom Tea – a smell that she'd come to love as much as the drink itself. Gleamblossom Tea was actually the first drink that her father gave her once she'd woken up in the cave for the first time. It was probably his way of breaking the ice between them, but it had quickly made the drink fall into place as her favourite drink of all time – even if it was an acquired taste.

Mornings were not something that she was overly fond of; dragging oneself out of a nice warm bedroll and into a cold cave was not the most pleasant thing first thing in the morning – especially when a fire hadn't been going long enough to properly heat the cavern. Nevertheless, she had duties to perform.

Dragging herself from her comfy pile of pelts, Lyra let loose an exaggerated groan of effort as she sat up, drawing the attention of her father who smiled at her from the fire. However, that went unnoticed as something else drew her gaze. Feeling something shift on her chest, Lyra looked down to see herself wearing a necklace around her pale neck – something that she had not gone to sleep wearing.

The words of her Lord echoed in her mind as she glanced down at it; '_for you shall awaken come morning to find yourself with a blessing – a blessing that will mitigate their main power over you'_. Was this that blessing?

The necklace – no; Amulet – was a simple affair. A simple golden chain wrapped around her neck, looping around until it reached the Amulet itself; an eight-pointed star, the protrusions all curved in the same direction, giving the star a swirling appearance. It was the Elven symbol of Auri-El, and one that could be found both on top of the Wayshrines and spread throughout Ancient Falmer architecture

It would seem that what ever blessing her Lord had given her came embedded in the form of an Amulet of Auri-el. Her father had one like it, so she knew that such Amulets usually contain protection or healing boosts, but she had a feeling that the blessing made this one different somehow.

Having seen Lyra divert her attention to something, Gelebor's own curiousity had him pipe up. "Something wrong, Lyra?"

She turned back to him with a smile, while holding up the Amulet. "Just admiring a gift, father." She said as she clearly showed him the Amulet that had appeared on her at some point in the night.

"A gift?" he asked confused, eying the Amulet.

"Yup." Her smile grew. "Auri-El gave me a blessing in my dream, and now I have this."

The look on her father's face was priceless. "Auri-El spoke to you? _Directly_?"

"Yes, father."

"And he gave you a gift?"

"Yes, father."

"Did he say what it was for?"

Lyra just kept smiling. "Yes, father."

"And what would that be?"

"In his own words;" Lyra started. "'_a blessing that will mitigate their main power over you_' – in reference to the possibility of the Potters or Dumbledore preventing me from returning."

Her father blinked. "Then… is it a way to get you home without needing that bird?" he asked, attempting to figure out what the blessing could be. "Try running your magic through it as you would for any other magic artefact; it might trigger the blessing."

Lyra nodded. She'd never really used any magic artefacts before, but her father had explained their usage to her before. Besides, manipulating one's inner magic was the most basics of basics that even a Knight-Paladin would learn despite the non-use of magic in their duties – the role magic usually fell instead to the Mage-Paladins; something that Lyra was putting some serious thought into becoming one day. After all, what better way to learn the wonders of magic _and_ repay Auri-El than to serve as a Mage-Paladin?

Taking the Amulet in hand, Lyra guided the flow of her Magicka down the length of her arm, letting it build up slightly in her hand, before she allowed it to continue its journey. The instant the Magicka energy made contact with the Amulet, a change quickly became evident as the Amulet began to glow and pulse with power – part of it being Lyra's power and part of it Auri-El's divine power. The resulting golden glow began to spread out from the Amulet and onto her body. As her hair began to shift as if in a light wind, the golden glow spread its way across Lyra's body until Lyra herself began to glow as if she were divine.

Several seconds passed of this glowing before the golden glow erupted into a blindingly bright flash – reminiscent of Auri-El's previous interventions. Almost instantly, the flash began to subside as quickly as it arrived, only to make it quickly obvious that Lyra was no longer there. She was gone.

"Father!"

Gelebor whipped his head towards the source of the shout to find Lyra standing inside the Wayshrine. The Knight-Paladin let out a sigh of relief. "I guess we know what it does now, Lyra."

"Yup." She grinned. "It brings me home."

"Indeed. Such magic is strong, however. Try doing it again, I very much doubt that such a powerful blessing can be used in quick succession." He reasoned. It was best if they found out now rather than have a nasty surprise later on.

Lyra's smile did not fade as she nodded – she was very happy with the blessing that Auri-El had granted her, after all. So, she merely took the Amulet in hand and began to guide her Magicka back down her arm again, repeating everything the exact same way as she had before. A few seconds passed before she let out a sigh.

"No, it is not working." She spoke absently as she guided her Magicka back into her magic core.

"I thought as much. We'll just have to see how long it takes before you can use it again by testing it repeatedly until it works again."

She nodded in reply. Lyra had heard that some spells, staffs and other such things often had recharging periods that depended on the strength of the spell that was being recharged. She only hoped that what was obvious divine magic didn't take _too_ long to do so. After all, what was stronger than a spell cast by a God?

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yup, Lyra now has a little trump card to keep on herself just in case. Of course, such a thing would require powerful magic, yes? Seems like a 'cooldown' period would be needed for such a powerful object… well, that and it stops her from overusing it and thus making it less of an over-powered item that can be used at will.

Quick question; pretty much every ES/HP crossover has a lot of Daedric influence in them, is that something you would like to see be explored in this story, too? I'll say this now, too, Lyra is a devout believer in Auri-El and, while she respects and makes tributes to Hircine, she has no reason to reach out to the other Daedric Princes currently. That being said, I am trying to write this in a way that everyone will enjoy, so let me know if it is something you want to see. If you want a Daedric touch added to this story, I can try and come up with an idea of how Lyra could catch the attention of a Daedric Prince, or maybe come up with a situation that has her encounter a member of a Daedric race.

Once again, let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!

PS. We just broke thirty-thousand words! Whoop, whoop! Way to go us, huh?

* * *

**Update as of 23rd January.**

Okay, so, I'm sending this update via my phone as I am away from my computers at the moment. Unfortunately, my health has taken a dive. I was meant to have an upload ready yesterday, I know, but I instead got a nasty surprise in the form of fainting- ah, I mean, passing out in a very dignified way, of course. Anyway, there will be a short break while I get my health sorted out and, once done, I will also take a few days to go over what I have already written to fix plot-holes and get ahead by a few chapters. Not only have I been hitting blocks as I have been writing the last few chapters, but in my re-reads of previous chapters, I have noticed small problems with the story that need a quick editing. No, the story is not getting rewritten, but a few edits are needed. But for now, however, I need to focus on getting back on my feet.

So, in conclusion, my apologies but the next chapter will be delayed while I get better and then fix a few problems.

No, this is _not a Hiatus_, its just a delay.

With love to all you wonderful readers,

SAJones.


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